Doncic, Cunningham eligible for MVP award, NBA confirms Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham have been ruled eligible for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player race despite not meeting the 65-game minimum to enter the running for the honour, the league said Thursday.
Los Angeles Lakers star Doncic and Detroit Pistons ace Cunningham both fell just short of playing in the required number of games to be eligible for the NBA’s end-of-season awards, with Cunningham playing in 63 games and Doncic in 64.
But the duo will be part of the NBA’s tightly-contested MVP race after the league and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) ruled there were “extraordinary circumstances” surrounding each player.
Cunningham’s regular season games tally was abbreviated after he suffered a collapsed lung in March which led to him missing 12 games. Doncic, who was sidelined for several games following a hamstring injury earlier this month after inspiring Lakers to a late-season resurgence, also missed two games to attend the birth of his daughter in Slovenia.
“The NBA and NBPA agreed that, taking into account the totality of the circumstances for Cunningham and Doncic, each player qualified for awards under the extraordinary circumstances provision in the CBA (collective bargaining agreement),” the NBA said in a statement.
However, the league turned down a request from Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards to be included in the awards picture. Edwards played in 60 games and filed a bid for inclusion under the same “extraordinary circumstances” rules.
“Edwards’ challenge was denied and, as a result, he is not eligible for annual awards for the 2025-26 NBA regular season,” the NBA said.
This season’s MVP race is regarded as one of the closest in years, with Doncic and Cunningham now amongst a pool of contenders led by Oklahoma City Thunder’s reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama and the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic.
Published on Apr 16, 2026
#Doncic #Cunningham #eligible #MVP #award #NBA #confirms
Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham have been ruled eligible for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player race despite not meeting the 65-game minimum to enter the running for the honour, the league said Thursday.
Los Angeles Lakers star Doncic and Detroit Pistons ace Cunningham both fell just short of playing in the required number of games to be eligible for the NBA’s end-of-season awards, with Cunningham playing in 63 games and Doncic in 64.
But the duo will be part of the NBA’s tightly-contested MVP race after the league and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) ruled there were “extraordinary circumstances” surrounding each player.
Cunningham’s regular season games tally was abbreviated after he suffered a collapsed lung in March which led to him missing 12 games. Doncic, who was sidelined for several games following a hamstring injury earlier this month after inspiring Lakers to a late-season resurgence, also missed two games to attend the birth of his daughter in Slovenia.
“The NBA and NBPA agreed that, taking into account the totality of the circumstances for Cunningham and Doncic, each player qualified for awards under the extraordinary circumstances provision in the CBA (collective bargaining agreement),” the NBA said in a statement.
However, the league turned down a request from Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards to be included in the awards picture. Edwards played in 60 games and filed a bid for inclusion under the same “extraordinary circumstances” rules.
“Edwards’ challenge was denied and, as a result, he is not eligible for annual awards for the 2025-26 NBA regular season,” the NBA said.
This season’s MVP race is regarded as one of the closest in years, with Doncic and Cunningham now amongst a pool of contenders led by Oklahoma City Thunder’s reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama and the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic.
Published on Apr 16, 2026
![Ayush Shetty: Asian Championship run gives me confidence that I can maintain level for longer period Last month, when India’s squad for the Thomas & Uber Cup was announced, Ayush Shetty was a young-and-upcoming 20-year-old who was getting his maiden call up.When India takes to the court in Denmark from April 24, he will be its most in-form player, having made a stirring run to the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) final in China last week.He has broken into the world’s top-20 and there will be expectations galore. But he is confidence personified, despite 2026 being only his second full year on the senior circuit.“My expectations [from myself] are always high, and I take people’s expectations as a challenge,” Ayush said at the Centre for Badminton Excellence here on Thursday.“When I won the Super 300 [U.S. Open in 2025], I did not see it as a surprise. Even when I got a confirmed medal at the Asian Championship, I believed that I could win the tournament,” the World No. 18 added.This confidence manifested in three straight victories over top-10 players at BAC – the then World No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn, No. 4 Jonatan Christie and No. 7 Li Shi Feng.“I had never beaten three top-10 players,” stated Ayush, who was No. 25 then. “It has always been like one victory [over an elite player] and then a loss. This run gives me the confidence that I can maintain my level for a longer period. Even my second round opponent Chi Yu Jen (No. 20) was a very tricky player.“Going into the All England [in early March], I felt that I was at my 100%. But the results were different (first round defeat). That is why BAC was important – to keep my confidence and belief high.”The one dull moment in an otherwise golden few days for Ayush was the retirement on Tuesday of double Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, whom he idolises and has even trained with in Dubai.“It’s a bit sad. I always wanted him to retire on the court. He deserved it,” said Ayush about the great Dane who last played competitively in October 2025.“I had told him in 2024 that we will play [competitively] soon. He said ‘sure, I have a couple of more years’. I will always have the regret that I could never play him.”Published on Apr 16, 2026 #Ayush #Shetty #Asian #Championship #run #confidence #maintain #level #longer #period](https://i2.wp.com/ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/nuklw5/article70870299.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/AFP_A7FV7G8.jpg?ssl=1 "Ayush Shetty: Asian Championship run gives me confidence that I can maintain level for longer period Last month, when India’s squad for the Thomas & Uber Cup was announced, Ayush Shetty was a young-and-upcoming 20-year-old who was getting his maiden call up.When India takes to the court in Denmark from April 24, he will be its most in-form player, having made a stirring run to the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) final in China last week.He has broken into the world’s top-20 and there will be expectations galore. But he is confidence personified, despite 2026 being only his second full year on the senior circuit.“My expectations [from myself] are always high, and I take people’s expectations as a challenge,” Ayush said at the Centre for Badminton Excellence here on Thursday.“When I won the Super 300 [U.S. Open in 2025], I did not see it as a surprise. Even when I got a confirmed medal at the Asian Championship, I believed that I could win the tournament,” the World No. 18 added.This confidence manifested in three straight victories over top-10 players at BAC – the then World No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn, No. 4 Jonatan Christie and No. 7 Li Shi Feng.“I had never beaten three top-10 players,” stated Ayush, who was No. 25 then. “It has always been like one victory [over an elite player] and then a loss. This run gives me the confidence that I can maintain my level for a longer period. Even my second round opponent Chi Yu Jen (No. 20) was a very tricky player.“Going into the All England [in early March], I felt that I was at my 100%. But the results were different (first round defeat). That is why BAC was important – to keep my confidence and belief high.”The one dull moment in an otherwise golden few days for Ayush was the retirement on Tuesday of double Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, whom he idolises and has even trained with in Dubai.“It’s a bit sad. I always wanted him to retire on the court. He deserved it,” said Ayush about the great Dane who last played competitively in October 2025.“I had told him in 2024 that we will play [competitively] soon. He said ‘sure, I have a couple of more years’. I will always have the regret that I could never play him.”Published on Apr 16, 2026 #Ayush #Shetty #Asian #Championship #run #confidence #maintain #level #longer #period")
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