NBA confirms Luka Doncic eligible for 2025-26 season awards
nba-confirms-luka-doncic-eligible-for-2025-26-season-awards
The NBA on Monday ruled that Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic meets the requirements for all 2025-26 regular-season awards, including Most Valuable Player and All-NBA honors.
Doncic appeared in 63 games before a Grade 2 left hamstring strain sidelined him for the final five contests. Under the league’s new 65-game minimum for major awards, he initially fell short. The 27-year-old successfully appealed under the collective bargaining agreement’s Extraordinary Circumstances provision, arguing that the two games he missed in December for the birth of his child should not count against him. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association upheld the appeal, restoring his eligibility.
The decision preserves Doncic’s bid for a sixth consecutive All-NBA First Team spot. While he is considered unlikely to surpass fellow candidates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama or Nikola Jokic in the MVP race, the ruling solidifies his place among the league’s top performers. Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham also received an exemption, positioning both players for First Team consideration. Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards filed a similar request but was denied.
Regardless of award eligibility, Doncic had already clinched the 2025-26 scoring title with an average of 33.5 points per game, edging Gilgeous-Alexander for the league lead in his first full season with Los Angeles. His achievement marks the fifth straight year an international player has led the NBA in scoring, following runs by Joel Embiid (2021-22, 2022-23), Doncic (2023-24), and Gilgeous-Alexander (2024-25). During this span, only Americans Damian Lillard and Edwards recorded top-three scoring finishes.
Doncic’s playoff availability remains uncertain as he continues rehabilitation from the hamstring injury.
Source: Lakers Nation
