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NBA rules against Anthony Edwards appeal for postseason awards eligibility

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp04/16/26

An NBA ruling has made Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic and Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham eligible for postseason awards, ESPN reported on Thursday. But former Georgia star Anthony Edwards, now with the Minnesota Timberwolves, will not be eligible.

All three had filed a challenge with the league in an attempt to become eligible despite playing fewer than 65 games. That is the league threshold to become eligible.

Doncic and Cunningham both played in 64 games this season, while Edwards played in 61. The news on Thursday was reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.

“The NBA and NBPA have ruled in favor of Lakers’ Luka Doncic and Pistons’ Cade Cunningham on their Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge for the 65-game award rule, making both eligible for all 2025-26 season honors such as MVP and All-NBA teams, sources tell ESPN,” Charania wrote on Twitter.

“Doncic missed 2 games in December due to the birth of his child abroad and Cunningham had a collapsed lung. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards filed a challenge as well and his case was advanced to an independent arbitrator, but was denied and (he) is not eligible for awards, sources said.”

The news for Anthony Edwards comes in a season in which he averaged a career-high 28.8 points per game, good for third in the league. The four-time NBA All-Star has previously earned second-team All-NBA honors twice.

Anthony Edwards wins NBA All-Star Game MVP

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was named the NBA All-Star Game MVP in mid-February. In the new Team USA vs. Team World format, Edwards starred in three games for “Team Stars.”

In Game 1, he had 13 points, while notching 11 in Game 2 and eight in Game 3. This was the first year that the NBA All-Star Game had round-robin games, 12 minutes apiece, to determine a championship game between the top two squads.

Team Stars beat Team Stripes 47-21 in the final game, a dominant display. Edwards chimed in afterward.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Edwards said on the NBC broadcast. “That’s how that is. We chose to compete today and we came out on top … I ain’t gonna lie, Wemby set the tone. He came out playing hard. And you know, we had to follow that, and we had to pick it up as a team. And we did that.”