Victor Wembanyama got to 65 games. Nikola Jokic might not.
And the NBA's award eligibility rule was a talking point yet again Friday night.
The 65-game standard was the biggest reason Wembanyama played through bruised ribs in San Antonio's next-to-last — and standings-wise, meaningless — game of the season against Dallas. He needed to play 20 minutes to ensure he'd get a 65th qualifying game and make it to the awards ballot, and wound up playing 26
to secure that spot.
“Feels like it's a box that's checked,” Wembanyama said.
He's the favorite to win NBA Defensive Player of the Year, he'll almost certainly be an All-NBA pick and he'll get some votes for MVP — an award he clearly wants — as well.
But Jokic, the three-time MVP who will finish the season as the league's rebounding champion, assist champion and only player averaging a triple-double, didn't play in Denver's game against Oklahoma City, with the Nuggets citing a right wrist injury. That left Jokic at 64 games for the season, one away from the magic 65 number.
It’s possible, but doesn’t sound guaranteed, that Jokic will get that 65th game on Sunday in the regular-season finale. Nuggets coach David Adelman said “an adult conversation” was going to take place on Saturday.
“Obviously, the success in the playoffs matters more than anything else,” Adelman said. “But this rule stares at us right now. And so, we’ve got to make a proper decision and we need to go in there with a real plan of ‘this is what it’s going to be.’ Either he gets those minutes, or we say ‘let’s just move on.’”
Adelman said he hopes the rule is changed, somehow, this summer. He said if players like Jokic can play 64 games, never wanting to come out, and not be award-eligible, then something is wrong.
“That’s not the spirit of what that rule is,” Adelman said.
The 65-game rule — which was hammered out in talks between the league and the players’ union as part of the current collective bargaining agreement — has been a hot topic in recent weeks. The Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic, currently out with a hamstring injury, is going to win the scoring title but he's one game short of being award-eligible.
If neither Doncic nor Jokic is awards-eligible, the league's scoring, rebound and assist champions all will miss the All-NBA team. The games-played threshold for being eligible for statistical titles is 58, or 70% of the season.
Doncic's agent, Bill Duffy, has said an appeal will be filed with the NBA to cite special circumstances and get the scoring champ on the awards ballots. An appeal could be filed on behalf of Detroit star Cade Cunningham — who will finish just short of the awards threshold — and Minnesota's Anthony Edwards won't get to 65 games, either.
And even Wembanyama isn’t sure if 65 is the right number.
“It’s an interesting question. It’s a very interesting question,” Wembanyama said, when told Doncic, Cunningham and Edwards are among those certain to fall short of 65 games. “If those three aren’t — especially Cade and Luka — if they aren’t in the end-of-season awards, for sure it’s not going to reflect their impact on the season. But at the same time, in my opinion, it’s good to have a threshold, a limit. Where do we need to put it? I don’t know. It’s a good question.”
Wembanyama was well on his way to winning the defensive player award last season when a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis cut his season short at the All-Star break and left him far below the 65-game standard.
He almost didn't get there this year, either.
“Means a lot. Means a lot. More than people know,” Wembanyama said. “Coming back from a terrible place a little bit more than a year ago, and if I’m here today it’s because of all the people that have allowed me to work through this and get better and all the work that we’ve put in all year long. I wouldn’t be able to do what I’ve done this season if I hadn’t worked so hard in the summer.”
Wembanyama's primary wish for the season is a championship. Jokic would surely say the same.
But there is a balance, and individual awards do matter, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
“Individual awards, accolades, recognition, accomplishment is important,” Johnson said. “And I think when you have a team that understands that the greater good for the team and the group is the most important thing, it allows people to feel good about not only acknowledging others but also being acknowledged in the moment.”
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
