OKLAHOMA CITY — Luka Dončić has a pathway to end-of-season award eligibility despite falling short of the minimum games threshold.
According to the NBA’s 65-game participation policy, players can appeal for an “Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge” if they meet a series of factors that include “extraordinary circumstances” where “it was impracticable for him to play in one or more of the Regular Season game(s) that he missed during such Season.”
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Dončić missed the Lakers’ games in Toronto and Boston on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5 to return to Slovenia for the birth of his second daughter. He rejoined the Lakers on Dec. 7 in Philadelphia.
In his 64th game of the season Thursday, Dončić suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter, limping off the court and directly to the locker room. He didn’t return to the game and underwent MRI testing on the injured left hamstring Friday afternoon. The Lakers later announced Dončić would miss the rest of the regular season, ensuring that he will not reach the 65-game threshold.
Had he played in both the Toronto and Boston games, Dončić would’ve played in 85.7 percent of the Lakers’ games up to and including Thursday’s in Oklahoma City — clearing the threshold for award eligibility. Dončić also would have reached 65 games had he not received a mandatory one-game suspension following his 16th technical foul last week, which caused him to miss the Lakers’ win against Washington on Monday.
Dončić is averaging 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game this season for the Lakers, leading the league in scoring while positioning himself as one of the top MVP candidates along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić. He was considered a favorite for his sixth first-team All-NBA spot after leading the Lakers to a 50-win season before his injury.
He’s the only Western Conference player to win Player of the Month honors twice this season, earning the award in January and March.
There is a belief that the two games he missed to be with family in Europe for the birth of his child would meet the league’s criteria for an exception, and Dončić’s agent — Bill Duffy of WME Basketball — pointed to that in a statement acquired by The Athletic on Friday.
“To ensure that Luka’s incredible accomplishments this season are rightly honored and he can be considered for the league’s end-of-season awards, we intend to apply for an ‘Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge’ to the 65-game rule,” Duffy’s statement read, in part. “Luka missed two games this season for the birth of his second child in Slovenia. His daughter was born on Dec. 4 on another continent, and yet he was back in the United States competing with his team on Dec. 6. Luka has gone to great lengths to show up for his team and this league this season. 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.”
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According to the policy, the team and Dončić can file for the exception starting on the final day of the regular season and then have until the next day to formally submit it. Should a “challenge expert” chosen jointly 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.”
— Sam Amick contributed to this story.