Anthony Edwards becomes latest NBA star bitten by awards eligibility rules with 17th absence
· Yahoo Sports
Anthony Edwards will not be playing Thursday. That also means he won’t be winning any NBA honors after the season.
The Minnesota Timberwolves guard became the latest NBA star to feel the bite of the league’s controversial awards eligibility rules on Thursday, when he was ruled out for the T-wolves’ game against the Detroit Pistons with right knee pain and an illness.
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The absence will be his 17th of the season, making it impossible for him to reach the 65-game minimum to be eligible for All-NBA and MVP voting.
Edwards received All-NBA second-team honors and a seventh-place finish in NBA MVP voting in each of the past two seasons. This season, he is averaging a career-29.3 points per game on a career-high 49.3% field goal shooting.
His critical mass of absences built gradually. He missed four games in the first month of the season with a hamstring issue, then another three games in December with a foot injury. That foot then caused him to miss another three games in January.
Edwards was still on track for eligibility entering March, but he was knocked out for six straight games with knee inflammation. He returned to action for a single game on Monday, but the combination of lingering knee issues and an unspecified illness supplied the knockout blow.
The NBA introduced its eligibility rules to combat the annoyance of stars taking rest and maintenance days despite fans paying to see them, but they have proven more and more unpopular with each star kicked out of awards consideration this season. The NBPA reached its breaking point last month, calling for the 65-game rule to be abolished after an injury to MVP candidate Cade Cunningham.
Among the other ineligible players are LeBron James and Stephen Curry, with Nikola Jokić, Kawhi Leonard and Devin Booker all a single missed game from joining them.