USA Today via Reuters
Credits: USA Today
USA Today via Reuters
Credits: USA Today
Stan Van Gundy was there when the Los Angeles Lakers suffered the first of many disasters. He even turned Luka Doncic into meme fodder right before the devastating hamstring injury and the first blowout loss to OKC. When Doncic was still in Dallas, he looked like the best player to the former coach. But his expectations might differ because he doesn’t currently see an MVP case for the Lakers star. Certainly not enough to justify bending the rules.
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That OKC game where he suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain was his 64th game of the season, one game short of the 65-game threshold to remain eligible for the end-of-season awards. While Doncic left for Spain to shorten that month-long recovery period, his agent Bill Duffy announced they’d be filing an ‘extraordinary circumstances challenge.’ The appeal’s entire basis is the two games he missed for the birth of his younger daughter in Slovenia.
Speaking on The Zach Lowe Show, Van Gundy was pretty much outraged at the idea that the NBA should make exceptions for personal life events.
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“The whole thing with his wife having a baby, C’mon! If that were the only games he missed, fine,” Van Gundy told Lowe.
SVG seemed unaware that Anamaria Goltes was Doncic’s fiancée at the time and is now his ex.
Stan Van Gundy on Luka Doncic trying to appeal the 65 game rule because he missed a game due to birth of his child 👀
“The whole thing with his wife having a baby, Cmon! If that were the only games he missed, fine. Everybody has missed games for personal reasons! We either have… https://t.co/HZaD4fkVsY pic.twitter.com/9pdfnbXno0
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) April 9, 2026
The league might be considering it, as it has put the voting on hold. Yet Van Gundy makes it sound like this could undermine the league’s integrity when he says:
“Everybody has missed games for personal reasons! We either have a line, or we don’t. If we have a line, then let’s stick to it. He didn’t make it.”
While the debate has merit, supporters argue that Luka didn’t take rest days, played in back-to-back games, and often played through pain. So, who is at fault for not meeting the criteria by one game?
SVG blames the Lakers:
“Are there other games he maybe could’ve played or would’ve played if they were at the end of the year to qualify?”
The former coach suggests it should’ve been on the Lakers to manage his schedule rather than hanging Doncic’s season on a single life event.
Luka Doncic’s appeal has strong support
The 65-game threshold has become increasingly contentious among players and coaches recently. Victor Wembanyama is risking injury and possibly returning for the final two games because he’s one game away from getting disqualified for DPOY and MVP. Cade Cunningham’s season ended at 61 games due to a collapsed lung, a fact that Pistons fans have not been able to reconcile with.
Luka Doncic has a whole other chip on his shoulder. His consistent 33.5 PPG and triple-doubles make an MVP case, but as scores of social media users have pointed out, an MVP title would put a huge asterisk on the February 2, 2025, trade. In the days after the trade, Nico Harrison’s PR campaign made the Slovenian superstar look lazy with no work ethic. His numbers with the Lakers show otherwise. An MVP title would reinforce it.
Imago
Mar 27, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images
So fans and players understand Doncic’s ‘extraordinary’ hustle to remain in MVP contention. Even Denver Nuggets forward Cam Johnson said on Wednesday:
“I completely understand the goal of it, but it’s just that hard stop. The difference between, say, a guy like Luka, if he plays 63 games, and him playing two or three more games is not going to change that much. Like, it’s not going to be like, ‘Oh, that pushes him over the hump from a non-All-NBA player to an All-NBA player.’ You know what I mean? If Jokic ended up playing 62 games instead of 65, it doesn’t push him.”
Well before Luka’s injury, even Draymond Green claimed the 65-game rule penalizes players like Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic for freak injuries.
SVG, who was merciless about Doncic’s stoppages in the last game, though, is in the minority. While Cade Cunningham has accepted it, fans are rallying to have both him and Doncic counted in the votes. The likes of Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady have also backed Luka’s appeal.
Yet it’s also worth considering Van Gundy’s fear that granting Luka’s appeal could set a precedent the league wants to avoid.
