Some of the NBA's biggest stars might not be eligible for awards

Devin Booker Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell headline incredible list of players trending toward ineligibility for NBA awards

By Jeff Smith | Last updated 12/30/23

One interesting aspect of what's felt like an injury-riddled NBA season, is the number of high-profile players who could ultimately become ineligible to be in the mix for season-long awards this year. The current rule states that players must average 20-plus minutes in 65 regular-season games or play at least 62 games, suffer a season-ending injury and play the majority of games prior to the injury.

So this means names like Ja Morant, Bradley Beal and Tyler Herro are already ineligible for the Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player awards. But beyond that, they also can't be selected to All-NBA or All-Defensive teams, as Hoops Hype detailed. But interestingly, the list of players trending toward joining the trio above features some very high-profile names.

NBA stars on pace to become ineligible for season awards

Devin Booker
Donovan Mitchell
Jimmy Butler
Kristaps Porzingis
Bam Adebayo
Lauri Markkanen
Jamal Murray
Darius Garland
Kyrie Irving
LaMelo Ball
Zach LaVine

Ineligible for sure

Ja Morant
Tyler Herro
Bradley Beal
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) December 30, 2023

That's an impressive group of players, and it's hard to argue that at least a few names on that list wouldn't be in the mix for one of the All-NBA or All-Defensive teams. Realistically, you could argue that Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell, Jimmy Butler Bam Adebayo and even Lauri Markkanen during his stellar season would all be considered or selected if they hit the required mark.

It'll be interesting to see how quickly a few of those names move into the "ineligible" section, but it seems very likely that this could ultimately cause some major debate among NBA fans and analysts by the end of the season.

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