Despite falling short of the games played-threshold, Lakers star Luka Doncic will be eligible for the league’s end-of-season awards voting, including All-NBA.
The NBA and NBPA announced in a joint statement on Thursday morning that Doncic’s Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge for the 65-game award rule was honored.
Pistons star Cade Cunningham also won his appeal of the Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge, the league and Players Association announced.
The ruling made Doncic and Cunningham eligible for all 2025-26 annual awards, which include All-NBA and MVP voting, with both expected to make an All-NBA team.
The NBA and NBPA also announced that Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards’ Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge was denied, making him ineligible for awards voting.
Ballots hadn’t been distributed as of Thursday morning, with the league waiting for the full list of candidates to be known.
Doncic played in 64 qualified games before suffering a regular season-ending Grade 2 left hamstring strain during the Lakers’ loss to the Thunder on April 2.
He missed two games in December because of the birth of his daughter in Europe, which qualified as an extraordinary circumstance according to the release. One of Doncic’s 18 missed games this season was because of a league-mandated suspension for the March 30 win over the Wizards after he picked up his 16th technical foul.
“I am grateful to the NBPA for advocating on my behalf and to the NBA for their fair decision,” Doncic wrote on X. “It was so important to me to be present for the birth of my daughter in December and I appreciate Mark [Walter], Jeanie [Buss], Rob [Pelinka], JJ [Redick], and the entire Lakers organization for fully supporting me and allowing me to travel to be there. This season has been so special to me because of what my teammates and I have been able to accomplish, and I am honored to have the opportunity to be considered for the league’s end-of-season awards.”
Doncic won the scoring title after leading the league with 33.5 points in addition to 8.3 assists, 7.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
He was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for January and March.
Cunningham averaged 23.9 points and 9.9 assists, leading the Pistons to 60 wins and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The full statement from the NBA and NBPA read: “The NBA and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) have agreed, in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), that Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic are eligible for all annual awards for the 2025-26 NBA regular season.
Cunningham played in 63 qualified games due in part to missing 12 games as a result of a collapsed lung that was diagnosed on March 17. Doncic played in 64 qualified games due in part to missing two games to attend the birth of his daughter in Slovenia. The NBA and NBPA agreed that, taking into account the totality of the circumstances for Cunningham and Doncic, each player qualified for awards under the extraordinary circumstances provision in the CBA.
Additionally, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who played in 60 qualified games, filed an extraordinary circumstances challenge under the CBA, seeking award eligibility before an independent arbitrator. Edwards’ challenge was denied and, as a result, he is not eligible for annual awards for the 2025-26 NBA regular season.”
