When Nikola Jokić hyperextended his left knee on Monday night in Miami, we wondered if his season might be over. Thankfully, his ligaments are intact, though he will miss at least four weeks. The Nuggets’ title hopes are still safe, as long as Jokić gets back to health and his teammates stay relatively intact. But this might end his MVP campaign.
Jokić has played in all 32 of Denver’s games so far. If he is out exactly four weeks, that would put him at 16 missed games. He could then miss one more game and still qualify for MVP and All-NBA honors under the league’s 65-game minimum rule. And that’s the best-case scenario with his injury. Big Honey would be the first person to tell you that individual awards don’t matter and it’s all about winning a championship. Sure, I believe that.
However, players have disliked the 65-game rule since its inception before the 2023-24 season. In the NBA’s attempt to show good faith to the fans — and likely more toward the potential broadcasters during rights negotiations — the league sought to end “load management” as much as possible and implement the Player Participation Policy. Part of that is excluding players from the highest honors if they fall short of 65 games in a season.
In spirit, this rule makes sense and is good. In reality, it’s shortsighted, and the Jokić situation shines a light on its flaws, akin to using one of those magnifying mirrors that help you pluck hairs from your unibrow (yes, this is an oddly specific reference, and no, it does not apply to Anthony Davis).
Jokić is having a season literally nobody has done before. It feels like we say that every year with him, but we mean it even more this time. He’s leading the NBA in rebounding and assists. That’s never happened. He’s averaging nearly 30 points per game on 60 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep. That’s never happened either. And yet, this injury is likely going to end his qualification for MVP. Why? This isn’t what load management is about. It wouldn’t be what it’s about if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Giannis Antetokounmpo or Luka Dončić were in the same situation.
The rule isn’t completely asinine, but punishing players for getting injured doesn’t seem to be its original intent. Remember, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton came back early from a hamstring injury two years ago because he was worried about qualifying for awards that would boost his contract extension. And he played worse because of it.
It’s very possible that someone else or multiple someone elses will play such amazing basketball in many more games that Jokić would get eliminated by default anyway. But that should only happen by preference, not by a letter of the law.
Maybe the NBA could figure out an addendum that would involve injuries for extended stretches in the middle of the season? I’m not sure what the solution is, but I agree with a lot of players: This rule isn’t it.