Thanks to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement being implemented in 2023-24, NBA players must play a minimum of 65 games (62 if they suffer a season-ending injury) in order to be eligible for major individual awards and All-NBA or All-Defensive Team selections.
As it stands right now, there are notable players such as Ja Morant and Bradley Beal who have already become ineligible for these honors thanks to injury and suspension. Joel Embiid, the NBA’s reigning MVP, is in serious danger of missing out on going back-to-back as MVP because of this rule. According to HoopsHype, there are also many other NBA stars who are headed in the same direction and on pace to become ineligible for major awards and accolades by the end of the 2023-24 season.
List of NBA stars who may become ineligible for major awards:
1. Joel Embiid – 7 games missed, ineligible if he misses 11 more games (26 games played)
2. Devin Booker – 9 games missed, ineligible if he misses nine more games (24 games played)
3. Donovan Mitchell – 9 games missed, ineligible if he misses nine more games (24 games played)
4. Jimmy Butler – 9 games missed, ineligible if he misses nine more games (24 games played)
5. Bam Adebayo – 10 games missed, ineligible if he misses eight more games (23 games played)
6. Kristaps Porzingis – 9 games missed, ineligible if he misses nine more games (24 games played)
7. Lauri Markkanen – 10 games missed, ineligible if he misses eight more games (24 games played)
8. Jamal Murray – 14 games missed, ineligible if he misses four more games (21 games played)
9. Kyrie Irving – 16 games missed, ineligible if he misses two more games (18 games played)
10. Evan Mobley – 12 games missed, ineligible if he misses six more games (21 games played)
Joel Embiid, who made his return to the lineup for the 76ers against the Bulls last night, is the biggest name in danger of missing out on back-to-back MVP honors and other major accolades thanks to the rules implemented by the CBA. Embiid is currently the frontrunner for the 2024 MVP, averaging 35.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game.
Unfortunately, Embiid has already missed seven of Philadelphia’s first 33 games due to injury. This means that Embiid will only be able to miss seven of the Sixers’ remaining 49 games if he wishes to repeat as the MVP this season. When we consider that Embiid always seems to push through injuries at the end of the regular season and playoffs which has contributed to some early exits for his team, he may think about resting come the end of the season to be at his freshest come playoff time.
Devin Booker’s nine games missed through 33 games for Phoenix means he can only miss nine more games over the Suns’ final 49 contests before he is ineligible for All-NBA Team honors or any major awards. Now, while he is having a tremendous season, Booker is unlikely to earn MVP consideration, especially with Phoenix’s struggles to start the year.
If he has lingering injuries that are hindering his performance as the postseason approaches, Booker will likely have no issue taking a set to ensure the Suns are as healthy as possible in their quest for their first NBA championship in franchise history.
Donovan Mitchell’s nine games missed through the 33 games that Cleveland has played puts him in the same situation as Devin Booker. He can only miss nine of the remaining 49 games on Cleveland’s schedule if he wishes to earn regular-season honors for his play in 2023-24. Mitchell will likely not find himself in any serious MVP conversations come season’s end which means he would only be hanging around for possible All-NBA Team honors.
Also similar to Booker is the fact that an NBA championship is the ultimate goal at the end of the day. Considering Cleveland’s early exit from the 2023 NBA playoffs, I would imagine Mitchell will prioritize his health heading into postseason play and take the necessary rest he needs to be healthy for a playoff run rather than push it just for a small All-NBA Team bonus.
Just like Mitchell and Booker, Jimmy Butler has missed nine of the 33 games played by the Heat so far in 2023-24. This means he can miss just nine more games of the remaining 49 on Miami’s schedule for the remainder of the season. Miami has played well without Butler on the court this season led by Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr.
If Butler were to need to hit the bench due to injury not only would he be willing to sacrifice the individual accolades and the bonuses that come with it, but he would be comfortable in doing so with the team in good hands in his absence. I think we would all rather see Butler at his very best come playoff time, anyway.
Bam Adebayo is in an even more peculiar position than his teammate when it comes to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement’s parameters around missed games and individual honors. Adebayo has missed 10 of Miami’s first 33 games, meaning he has just seven games to work with for the rest of the season. Through 23 games for Miami, he has been one of their most important players and best all-around defenders which has sparked their surge up the standings as of late.
Now, we know that a large part of Adebayo certainly cares about being in the running for individual awards, specifically the Defensive Player of the Year award he has been a finalist for in recent years. However, we also know that Adebayo wants to win and two losses in four seasons in the NBA Finals stings a bit more than being overlooked as the best defender in the NBA.
Kristaps Porzingis missing nine games through 33 games played by Boston means that he too can only miss nine games over Boston’s final 49. Again, Porzingis is unlikely to be considered for MVP or any other major individual award, leaving All-NBA and All-Defensive teams as his best bets. Despite those being an outside possibility, I would hope that he is more inclined to rest if his plantar fasciitis flares up or if he suffers another injury that requires time to be spent away from the court.
After all, Boston brought Porzingis in and decided to pay him $30 million per year to help them win an NBA championship, not to earn All-NBA or All-Defensive Team honors.
Lauri Markkanen, the reigning Most Improved Player of the league has missed 10 of Utah’s 34 games played so far this season, giving him just seven more games of leeway in their final 48 games before he becomes ineligible. At 15-19 and with a loaded Western Conference, the Jazz could possibly be out of the postseason race by the time Markkanen has to make any drastic decisions about his availability.
I can’t get inside Markkanen’s head to make any decisions for him or express how he is approaching the subject. I do know that if I were him and my team was well out of a chance at competing for an NBA championship, I would take all of the risks in the world to earn All-NBA Team honors and a nice boost to my paycheck.
One of the players who is extremely close to becoming ineligible for all major individual accolades and awards this season is Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray. Coming off a season in which he came back from a torn ACL and helped lead the Nuggets to their first NBA championship, Murray has missed 14 of the Nuggets first 35 games in 2023-24.
This means he can miss just four games of Denver’s remaining 47 games, meaning missing just four more games will make him ineligible. Of course, this isn’t something new for Murray who missed over a year of play due to that knee injury in 2021 and 2022. While it would be nice for Murray to earn his first All-NBA Team selection, it simply does not mean as much to be a major contributor to a team going for a repeat as NBA champions.
As it stands, Denver’s chances of a repeat are very good as long as Murray is in the lineup along with Nikola Jokic and the rest of Denver’s core. There is no use risking that to push through unnecessary risks just for individual recognition.
Kyrie Irving has already missed 16 of the 34 games that Dallas has played, meaning he can miss just two more games before he is considered ineligible for any individual awards or honors. After arriving last season in Dallas via trade and missing the playoffs, Kyrie is likely to make sure he is healthy enough for any playoff push they make this season rather than worrying about how many games he misses.
The final player on the list of NBA stars who are in danger of becoming ineligible for awards and accolades at the end of the season is Cleveland’s Evan Mobley. Now, at this current moment, Mobley remains eligible for NBA awards such as Defensive Player of the Year and All-Defensive Team honors, having missed 12 of the Cavaliers’ 33 games this season.
However, Cleveland announced that he is going to miss six to eight weeks due to knee surgery which is going to add him to the ineligible list in the next week or two. The timing couldn’t be more unfortunate for Mobley who was having yet another season worthy of All-Defensive team recognition before he went down.
