The NBA's 65-game rule has been under scrutiny all season long. However, after the NBA deemed Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham eligible for awards due to extraordinary circumstances, some of this discourse should settle down a bit.
After this news came out, it was also reported that Anthony Edwards filed a challenge but was denied, and thus, he is not eligible for All-NBA honors. While this might be disappointing news for Minnesota Timberwolves fans, it's easy to see why Luka and Cade were granted award eligibility, but Ant wasn't.
Doncic and Cunningham missed the games played cut-off by one single game. Furthermore, Luka missed two games to witness the birth of his child, and Cunningham returned for the last three regular season games following a collapsed lung injury. Conversely, Ant played in just 61 games, missing the cut-off by four games, and he didn't have the same extraordinary circumstances.
Frankly, I was even surprised that Edwards filed a case. But it doesn't hurt to try, I guess.
Anthony Edwards missing out on All-NBA honors doesn't matter in the long run
Some fans might disagree, but my stance on awards is that they are a lot of fun but ultimately shouldn't hold a ton of weight. Undoubtedly, it would have been nice to see Ant make his third straight All-NBA team. Had he been eligible, Edwards would likely have made another All-NBA Second Team, and he would have had an outside chance of making his first-ever All-NBA First Team.
But in the big picture, Ant-Man being healthly for the playoffs should be the top priority.
Edwards missed 10 out of the final 13 regular season games (including six straight) with a knee injury. If he really cared about awards, he would have forced and played in every game down the stretch after returning.
Let's be honest, though, that would have been foolish. The top priority for Ant and the Wolves should always be the playoffs, especially since a major award like MVP wasn't in the cards for him, and missing out on All-NBA doesn't affect his contract.
If Ant had played in these games, there's a strong chance he wouldn't be 100 percent for the playoffs -- heck, even now that's a question. And as we all know, the Wolves wouldn't have any playoff success without Ant at his best. Thus, resting him at the expense of his All-NBA eligibility was the right move.
One interesting wrinkle is that Edwards can still win an award since Clutch Player of the Year is one of the awards (along with Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, and All-Rookie teams) that don't abide by the 65-game rule. Ant's 5.6 clutch points per game ranked second among qualifying players, and he shot more efficiently than Shai Gilgeous Alexander, who ranked first in clutch points.
Winning Clutch Player of the Year would be a nice nod for Edwards' incredible clutch-time heroics (and it would expose the silliness of the 65-game rule).
Ultimately, while Ant won't earn All-NBA honors, Wolves fans know that he had a fantastic regular season, and they should understand why the NBA didn't grant him an exception as they did for Luka and Cade.
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