San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama\u2019s pursuit of the MVP award is still alive. Wembanyama is officially eligible for end-of-season awards after playing at least 20 minutes in Friday\u2019s game against the Dallas Mavericks.<\/p>\n
Wembanyama played 26:13 minutes in the Spurs\u2019 139-120 win<\/a> over the Mavericks, scoring 40 points.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The 22-year-old center was in danger of missing the 65-game threshold after sustaining a rib injury during the team\u2019s 115-102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on April 6.<\/p>\n With just three games left in the regular season following that injury, Wembanyama didn\u2019t have much time to recover if he wanted to be eligible for the NBA\u2019s end-of-year awards. He needed just one more game to be eligible.<\/p>\n On Friday, Wembanyama was honest about hitting that mark.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I had had 65 [games] before, I would, for sure, not have played,\u201d he said on the broadcast postgame.<\/p>\n Thanks to a rule agreed to by the players and league in the latest collective bargaining agreement, players need to participate in 65 games in a single season in order to be eligible for end-of-year awards. The league introduced the measure as a way to prevent tanking, and ensure star players take the court when healthy.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n This season, the rule has taken some prominent names out of award consideration<\/a>, including Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Anthony Edwards, among many others.<\/p>\n While those players didn\u2019t necessarily have a shot to jump into MVP consideration due to those injuries, other superstars with more realistic shots at earning an end-of-year nod were also affected by the rule. Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham won\u2019t be eligible for All-NBA honors due to a lung issue<\/a>. Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Don\u010di\u0107, who put his name in the MVP race after a blazing hot month of play, will not qualify for the award due to a hamstring injury<\/a>. Don\u010di\u0107 will miss out on eligibility by one game.<\/p>\n Wembanyama found himself in the same spot. Following the team\u2019s April 6 game, Wembanyama had played in 63 games this season. While that\u2019s technically two games away from the league\u2019s 65-game threshold, his appearance in the NBA Cup championship game counts toward that total, even though his stats from that game do not. Teams that play in the NBA Cup final finish the season with 83 total games, which is why the league doesn\u2019t allow those stats to carry over. That put Wembanyama one game away from qualifying for end-of-year awards.<\/p>\n The way the rule is written, Wembanyama had to play at least 20 minutes in one of the Spurs\u2019 final three regular-season games in order to be eligible for awards. The NBA requires 20 minutes of play for a player to accrue a \u201cgame played\u201d during the season. Players are allowed two exceptions, but Wembanyama used his final one the night he sustained the rib injury. Because of that, the Spurs couldn\u2019t send him out on the court for the tipoff and then take him out of the game. He needed to play significant time in at least one contest down the stretch.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n