Luka Dončić to hunt exception to NBA’s 65-game rule for awards. Here’s how he can get it

OKLAHOMA CITY — Luka Dončić has a pathway to end-of-season award eligibility regardless of falling wanting the minimal video games threshold, and his agent plans to take it.

Dončić injured his hamstring within the third quarter of Thursday evening’s sport at Oklahoma City. It was his sixty fourth sport of the season, and when the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday introduced the harm would maintain him out for the remainder of the common season, it assured Dončić would fall wanting the NBA’s 65-game threshold to be eligible for key postseason awards akin to Most Valuable Player and all-NBA.

But in a press release acquired by The Athletic on Friday, Dončić’s agent, Bill Duffy of WME Basketball, mentioned Dončić plans to enchantment for an “Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge,” an possibility that’s included within the NBA’s 65-game participation coverage. The coverage permits gamers to enchantment in the event that they meet a sequence of things that embrace “extraordinary circumstances” the place “it was impracticable for him to play in one or more of the Regular Season game(s) that he missed during such Season.”

“Luka has gone to great lengths to show up for his team and this league this season,” Duffy’s assertion learn, partially. “His record-breaking season deserves to be noted in the history books, despite last night’s unfortunate injury and other extraordinary circumstances. We look forward to working with the NBAPA and the league office to ensure a fair outcome in this matter.”

Duffy pointed to 2 video games Dončić missed in Toronto and Boston on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5 to return to Slovenia for the beginning of his second daughter. The Lakers’ star rejoined his crew on Dec. 7 in Philadelphia. Had he performed in each the Toronto and Boston video games, Dončić would’ve performed in 85.7 % of the Lakers’ video games as much as and together with Thursday’s in Oklahoma City — clearing the brink for award eligibility.

According to the coverage, the Lakers and Dončić can file for the exception beginning on the ultimate day of the common season, then have till the following day to formally submit it. Should a “challenge expert,” chosen collectively by the NBA and NBPA rule in his favor, “the sole remedy shall be that the player is deemed eligible for the Applicable Generally Recognized League Honors.”

Dončić additionally would have reached 65 video games had he not obtained a compulsory one-game suspension following his sixteenth technical foul final week, which prompted him to overlook the Lakers’ win in opposition to Washington on Monday.

Dončić is averaging 33.5 factors, 7.7 rebounds and eight.3 assists per sport this season for the Lakers, main the league in scoring whereas positioning himself as one of many high MVP candidates together with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić. He was thought of a favourite for his sixth first-team All-NBA spot after main the Lakers to a 50-win season earlier than his harm.

He’s the one Western Conference participant to win Player of the Month honors twice this season, incomes the award in January and March.