Jan. 2, 2026, 9:41 p.m. CT
Kevin Durant is the latest to weigh in on the NBA’s award eligibility.
With some of the league’s top names like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama and Luka Doncic all missing time this season, some of the league’s biggest names could be ineligible for awards and All-NBA teams. This is the third year that the league has required players to suit up in at least 65 games to be eligible, and it has continued to stir controversy.
Durant weighed in on a post by Brett Siegel, a ClutchPoints reporter, calling for the NBA to change the award criteria with so many of the league’s stars on the shelf.
Durant’s opinion on award eligibility
Durant said that he’s “gotten used” to the 65-game threshold for the NBA’s end-of-season awards, and pushed the idea that the league included the new eligibility rules in the latest CBA to “try to accommodate fans” after complaints from them and the media.
He went on to say that fans and the media have “ruined basketball discourse” by influencing the NBA’s latest award eligibility rules and have diminished “the importance of the regular season.” Durant acknowledged that the playoffs are the most “important part of the year,” but said that a great regular season was necessary to make the playoffs.
Some may view Durant’s take as him blaming the fans and the media for the NBA’s latest slew of injuries to its top stars that will cause them to miss out on awards. However, that’s not the case, as his point lies in how fans and the NBA world value performances in the regular season less than accomplishments in the playoffs.
He went on to say that the league would likely revert to different eligibility rules once “more media and fans have a problem with it,” similar to how the NBA adopted feedback on the All-Star game as well as its in-season and play-in tournament. Whether the league will change its award format remains to be seen, but Durant’s take offers a perspective on how he and potentially other players feel about the new award eligibility rules, with some of its biggest stars likely to miss out.