We’ve reached the final day of the NBA regular season. The Denver Nuggets, winners of 11 straight heading into Sunday’s game with the San Antonio Spurs, have moved into the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, one game above the Los Angeles Lakers.
There is still one other interesting aspect of this final game beyond Denver’s seeding: Nikola Jokić’s MVP eligibility is on the line. He must play at least 15 minutes in tonight’s game or he won’t be eligible for MVP, All-NBA honors, or other end-of-season awards.
Latest on Nikola Jokić Status Against San Antonio With NBA MVP Eligibility On the Line
Nuggets head coach David Adelman confirmed that Jokić will officially play in tonight’s game against the Spurs. He will play in the first half and then at halftime, the Nuggets will determine whether to sit him the rest of the way.
Jokić was listed as questionable for this game due to right wrist injury management, but he’s good to go.
He sat out Denver’s last game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to the same wrist issue. Meanwhile, seven other Nuggets players have been ruled out for the Spurs game, including Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, Tim Hardaway Jr, and Cam Johnson. Clearly, the organization is prioritizing health for the playoffs.
For Jokić, he has played 64 games to date, one short of the eligibility threshold for end-of-season awards. He is considered one of the top candidates for the MVP award alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Serbian superstar is averaging 27.8 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.9 assists per game while shooting 56.9% from the field.
He has recorded 34 triple-doubles this season alone, and he is on track to become the first player in NBA history to lead the league in both rebounds and assists in the same season.
Previously, Adelman had indicated that Denver would seriously consider resting their superstar, stating that there would be an “adult conversation with Nikola” about how “success in the playoffs matters more than anything else” including individual awards.
Under the NBA’s 65-game rule, which was implemented ahead of the 2023-24 season, players must appear in at least 65 regular-season games to be eligible for end-of-season honors. The rule was originally designed to discourage load management and incentivize teams to keep their stars on the floor. However, it has become one of the league’s most polarizing topics.
There have been plenty of calls for the league to review the 65-game rule for awards eligibility. It remains to be seen if Adam Silver and Co. will tweak the eligibility rules this offseason.
