Barring a successful appeal, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic is set to miss out on NBA awards this season. Luka appeared in 64 regular season games in 2025-26, falling just one game shy of the required mark to qualify for awards.
Plenty of fans are fed up with the 65-game rule. Some are calling for a change to the rule that would base award qualification on minutes instead of games played. The 2025-26 regular season provides some delicious food for thought in that regard, particularly in the case of Doncic. Luka played in 2,289 minutes this season, while San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama played far fewer minutes: 1,866. Here's the kicker: Wemby is eligible for awards (he appeared in just enough games); Luka is not.
Luka Doncic, Wemby landed on opposite sides of the same flawed rule
Here are some other notable NBA guys (and their 2025-26 minutes played) who played more minutes than Wemby but didn't qualify for awards: Cade Cunningham (2,172), Devin Booker (2,146), Anthony Edwards (2,137), Pascal Siakam (2.057), LeBron James (1,973), and Brandon Miller (1,968).
The 65-game rule is under fire right now, but it's worth noting some of its strengths. When Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown spoke out in support of the rule recently, he noted that, in the past, guys who played far fewer than 65 games had bloated stats compared to guys who played full seasons (like, 70-plus games), which created an unfair advantage. This was a valid point from JB, who also clarified that he thinks the minimum game requirement should be lowered to around 62.
In general, I think most people can agree on the need for players to be rewarded for durability and, conversely, on the need to guard against players load managing to an unnecessary degree. The latter thought was at the forefront of the league office's mind when it implemented the 65-game rule, which has now been in effect for three seasons.
The 65-game rule should be adjusted in at least two ways
The rule isn't as bad as everyone's saying it is, but it does need to be adjusted. This could come in a couple of different ways. One idea is that the rule could begin to take into account minutes played. It could go something like this -- the 65-game threshold still stands, but of the players who appeared in 65 games, the player on that list who logged the least minutes then becomes a new standard for that season's eligibility, providing another way for non-65-gamers to qualify for awards, provided they played the same amounts of minutes (or more) than the aforementioned player.
In other words, no NBA player would be disqualified from awards who played more minutes than any of the players who did qualify. This feels like an easy adjustment that everyone would see as logical.
Another idea would be to follow Brown's thinking and lower the threshold to 62 games. The NBA could actually make both of these changes. Why not? Due to an iffy formality that is still in its working stages, Luka might miss out on All-NBA accolades despite turning in an MVP-worthy season. That's not right. Even if many aspects of the current 65-game rule are good, that doesn't mean it can't be tinkered with and improved upon moving forward.