Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic’s MVP award eligibility is uncertain with only one game left in the NBA regular season.
The Oklahoma City-Denver game could have featured Nikola Jokic, a three-time MVP winner. However, he sat out Friday night.
Jokic’s Award Eligibility
Nikola Jokic needs to play in one more game to be eligible for MVP, All-NBA and other awards. The Nuggets entered Friday still having seeding to play for, and in Jokic’s case, there’s still award eligibility to obtain.
Nuggets coach David Adelman said they are aware of the situation. He also said that “an adult conversation” would be had Saturday about the best course of action.
Teams Resting Players Before Playoffs
Across the NBA, 168 players were held out Friday night due to injury or illness. All teams were playing game 81 of their seasons on Friday night. They are all off Saturday and then play Sunday to close the regular season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder had already clinched the No. 1 seed for the postseason. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said that if they hadn’t clinched, “everybody would be playing”.
Other players managed to reach award eligibility with minimal time to spare. Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio needed to play 20 minutes to reach the 65-game standard for postseason awards eligibility. He was removed after playing exactly 20 minutes but then re-entered the game. He finished with 40 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes during a 139-120 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
According to Wembanyama, he wouldn’t have played if he had already reached 65 games. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said they need as much on-the-job training and on-court experience together as they can get.
Other NBA Action
The Boston Celtics made 29 3-pointers, tying the record for 3s in a game. It was the fourth time in NBA history a team made 29 and the second time this week after the Memphis Grizzlies did it Monday in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla hopes his team didn’t use them all up in one game.
The Golden State Warriors are preparing for the play-in tournament. They tuned up by getting Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingi.
The Nuggets will decide whether to play Jokic on Sunday so he can get on the ballot for MVP and other awards.