The NBA’s 65-game rule is back in the spotlight — and this time, it’s centered around Luka Doncic. The Los Angeles Lakers star currently sits just one game short of eligibility for end-of-season awards, and former Lakers guard Lou Williams believes the system is flawed. Williams argued that the two games Dončić missed to attend the birth of his daughter in Slovenia should never count against him in the first place.
Dončić has played 64 games this season — just one short of the NBA’s 65-game threshold required for MVP and All-NBA consideration. That makes the situation even more controversial given his dominance: he leads the league with 33.5 points per game while adding 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists. Williams addressed the issue Monday on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back, putting the spotlight on how close Dončić is to missing out.
“That’s one way, but also you can’t punish it,” Williams said. “You can’t punish a guy for being present for the birth of his child as well. And that was two games. So all of these things weigh in.”
Lou Williams is happy Luka Doncic’s situation is creating conversations about the 65-Game Rule
“You can’t punish a guy for being present for the birth of his child.”@MichelleDBeadle | @TeamLou23 | @GeorgesNiang pic.twitter.com/nfGv3AVmvc
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 6, 2026
Lou also addressed the financial dimension of the filing, where he made it clear that the business stakes justify the challenge. “I don’t mind them filing a junction to try to get him back eligible for these postseason awards,” he said. “I’m sure these guys got incentives. And we’re talking about not hundreds of millions of dollars … Whatever those numbers are in their contracts, that’s going to cost you a lot of cheese.”
Doncic’s agent, Bill Duffy of WME Basketball, confirmed that the camp intends to file an “Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge” to the 65-game rule. Williams acknowledged the logic of Duffy’s position directly, saying, “If I’m Bill Duffy, I’m doing this right, because I got some money tied up in it as well.”
Under the CBA, Dončić must prove that it was impracticable for him to play in those missed games, that he would have reached 65 appearances otherwise, and that excluding him from awards would be unjust given his season. The filing deadline is April 13 — one day after the regular season ends. An independent expert, jointly selected by the NBA and NBPA, will then review the case before issuing a ruling.
Doncic flew to Slovenia in December for the birth of his daughter, who arrived on Dec. 4. After that, he was back competing for the Lakers by Dec. 6 in their road defeat against Boston. Interestingly, all these would have been avoided if he hadn’t received his 16th technical foul against the Golden State Warriors on April 2 after he escaped the Goga Bitadze saga.
Lou Williams warns 65-game rule is skewing All-NBA selections
Williams argued that the rule is distorting the All-NBA teams in ways that will be felt by fans and players throughout the league. “You’re going to have a first, second, and third team All-NBA that’s going to be off kilter a little bit,” Williams said, “because there are guys that’s not going to be involved in that conversation who absolutely deserve to be.”
The issue extends beyond Dončić. Cade Cunningham and Anthony Edwards are also sitting at 64 games and risk missing the cutoff, meaning multiple legitimate All-NBA candidates could be left off ballots entirely.
Adam Silver has already acknowledged the rule’s limitations, noting that any hard threshold will inevitably leave deserving players on the wrong side. If Dončić’s appeal succeeds, it could set a precedent — potentially opening the door for players like Edwards and Cunningham to seek similar exceptions.
At its core, the debate now goes beyond Dončić. It raises a bigger question for the league — should rigid rules outweigh context when it comes to recognizing the game’s best players?
