One of the crazier rule changes the NBA has made in recent years was the 65-game minimum for players to qualify for awards. It’s led to some truly wonky results like a whole host of the league’s top defenders being ineligible for Defensive Player of the Year and plenty of deserving players missing out on honors they had rightful cases for.
It also means that any in-season injury comes with it a ticking countdown of games remaining before being ruled ineligible. The Lakers have suffered plenty of injuries this season, most notably in LeBron James missing the opening weeks of the season.
But how much risk are other Lakers at? For most, it’s not a particularly meaningful benchmark to clear. For the likes of Luka Dončić or Austin Reaves, both of whom have missed time this season, it is a particularly relevant line they must stay above.
Here’s a look at how many games each player who could be in the running for awards has missed so far and can miss the rest of the season:
Obviously, Ayton (Most Improved Player?) and Smart (Sixth Man of the Year? All-Defense?) are long shots to win any kind of awards, but long shots have won in years past if for no other reason than everyone in front of them became ineligible.
We’ll keep this updated as each player misses any more games this seasonto see how close they are to being ruled ineligible, so be sure to check back.