The Lakers’ worst fears manifested. Luka Doncic was officially diagnosed with a grade 2 hamstring strain he suffered in the Los Angeles Lakers’ blowout 139-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He’s indefinitely with a small glimmer of hope that he’d be back in the playoffs. But by then the MVP race would be closed, votes would be counted, and the winner would be announced. After putting up MVP-like numbers all season, Doncic’s eligibility hangs in the balance. Unless his agent has something to say about it.

Doncic is leading the league with 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game in 64 games played this season. He’s one game short of meeting the 65-game criteria. But his agent, Bill Duffy believes he’s got an ‘extraordinary’ solution for that.

Bill Duffy of WME Basketball, announced on Friday that the superstar’s camp intends to file an “Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge” to the NBA’s 65-game rule, arguing that a strictly numerical threshold should not erase a historic season.

“This season, Luka Dončić has performed at a historic level, leading the league in scoring, carrying the Lakers to third place in the Western Conference and placing himself in the middle of one of the most tightly contested MVP races in memory,” Duffy said in an official statement. “To ensure that Luka’s incredible accomplishments this season are rightly honored and he can be considered for the league’s end-of-season awards, we intend to apply for an ‘Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge’ to the 65-game rule.”

The grievance centers on a specific two-game absence in December. “Luka missed two games this season for the birth of his second child in Slovenia. His daughter was born on Dec. 4 on another continent, and yet he was back in the United States competing with his team on Dec. 6. Luka has gone to great lengths to show up for his team and this league this season.”

Doncic’s ex, Anamaria Goltes welcomed their second daughter in December 2025, for which Doncic traveled to Slovenia. As of January, they split and he’s now locked in a bitter, intercontinental custody battle for their daughters, Olivia and Gabriela.

There’s only five games remaining this season. Steve Kerr, in his campaign to overhaul the 65-game rule, confirmed that a player needs to play for 19 minutes at least to count for a full game and it has kept Draymond Green out of All-NBA honors for years.

Elsewhere even Cade Cunningham’s MVP campaign was wasted due to circumstances not under his control. A grade 2 strain usually requires several weeks of recovery. He might not return until the first round of the playoffs, if the Lakers make it beyond that. This is season-ending in a way that the regular season has run out. But his MVP campaign may not be over.

Luka Doncic has an ‘extraordinary’ chance to win MVP

Almost immediately after the loss to OKC, LeBron James’ remarks set the tone for the Lakers’ next steps. He gave a small silver lining hoping that the week of the Play-In Tournament will give Luka Doncic, as well as Marcus Smart who is sidelined with an ankle injury, the extra week to rest and recover. By the time they might be able to return, the Lakers would be kicking off the postseason.

It would be too late for Doncic’s MVP case but his camp doesn’t want to give up. The “Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge” is a rarely invoked provision in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) designed for situations where a player’s absence was unavoidable or due to factors beyond “load management.” Several analysts confirmed that Doncic has a good chance in this appeal.

The birth of a child constitutes “extraordinary circumstances. And Duffy’s argument is clear, the league shouldn’t penalize a player for a 48-hour international round-trip to witness the birth of a child, especially when that player has otherwise maintained a heavy workload. Duffy only needs to make that appeal on time, before midnight on the last day of the regular season.

While Doncic’s ‘whining’ has made him unpopular among voters and led to his drop in the rankings, his agent believes, “His record-breaking season deserves to be noted in the history books, despite last night’s unfortunate injury and other extraordinary circumstances. We look forward to working with the NBAPA and the league office to ensure a fair outcome in this matter.”

For what it’s worth, the same media that doesn’t see a strong MVP case for Luka Doncic, is confident he will retain his eligibility through this appeal.