Every player who is ineligible for the NBA's post-season awards

In the NBA's infinite wisdom, the latest collective bargaining agreement included a new requirement: Players need to play in at least 65 games—and play at least 20 minutes in 63 of those games—to be eligible for MVP, Defensive Player of the Year or the All-NBA teams. This was the NBA's latest attempt to combat the leaguewide increase in load management, which surely had no relation to its ongoing negotiations over new national TV contracts that were happening simultaneously.

As with most major NBA changes, this wound up having unintended consequences. Diluting the pool of players who are eligible for the league's major awards puts some teams in a tough spot, as certain players can earn more money on their extensions by winning MVP or DPOY or landing an All-NBA nod.

This year, a handful of players are already ineligible for those end-of-season honors. That's particularly costly for Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams, who made the All-NBA third team last year and signed an extension this past offseason that would have begun at 30 percent of the 2026-27 salary cap had he won MVP or DPOY or made first-team All-NBA this season. Alas, he missed the first 18 games (and counting) of the season and is already disqualified from those end-of-season honors.

Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who has already missed seven games this season, is out at least 3-4 weeks with a meniscus tear in his left knee. Sabonis missed the All-NBA team last season, but he made it both in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

J-Dub has company in that regard. A few other big-name players are also out of the running.

Every major player ineligible for NBA's post-season awards

Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, both of whom made the All-NBA team last year, are sidelined by Achilles injuries and are expected to miss the full 2025-26 season. Along with J-Dub, that means three of the 15 spots from last year's All-NBA squads are wide open.

While it's still early in the season, J-Dub and Kyrie will soon have a lot more company in the ineligible pool. A few players are already nearing their games-missed limit.

Players flirting with ineligibility

Three All-NBA spots from last year are already open, and there are several more on the table here. Giannis Antetokounmpo missed several games with a calf strain and can only miss three more games over the rest of the season and still be eligible. LeBron James missed most of the early part of the season with nerve issues and can only miss one more game and preserve his eligibility. Steph Curry, another All-NBA selection from last year, has a bit more padding but is still in danger.

And then there is Nikola Jokić, he's only missed one game but is expected to be out for the next 3-4 weeks after hyperextending his knee, and could be on a knife's edge of eligibility for the rest of the season.

Victor Wembanyama has missed several games with a left calf strain already and just hyperextended his knee. The Spurs figure to play it safe with their franchise cornerstone, so this may be the second straight year in which Wemby doesn't qualify for end-of-season awards because of the 65-game rule. (Imagine if the Spurs get him on a 25 percent max deal because of that.)

We'll update this post throughout the year, so check back to see which of your favorite stars won't be taking home some hardware this season.

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