Anthony Edwards Loses Challenge, Ruled Ineligible for 2025

Anthony Edwards appeared in 61 regular-season games this season, which is four short of the league's requirement to be considered for the NBA Awards at the end of the season. He challenged the ruling, and he was officially denied on Thursday.

"Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who played in 60 qualified games, filed an extraordinary circumstances challenge under the CBA, seeking award eligibility before an independent arbitrator," the league wrote in a release. "Edwards' challenge was denied, and as a result, he is not eligible for annual awards for the 2025-26 NBA regular season."

The @NBA and @TheNBPA issue a joint statement saying Luka Dončić and Cade Cunningham have successfully challenged the league’s 65-game rule …. but say Anthony Edwards’ challenge was denied: pic.twitter.com/8hXkIzIh2m
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 16, 2026

Cade Cunningham was limited to 64 regular-season games due to a collapsed lung, and Luka Doncic played 64 games before suffering a leg injury. The league approved both of their challenges to be considered for the 2025-26 NBA awards.

The NBA implemented the 65-game rule to be considered for awards before the 2023-24 season in hopes of reducing the rise of load management among the league's stars. Edwards averaged a career-high 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game this season, while shooting 48.9% from the field, 39.9% from three, and 79.6% from the free-throw line.

It would be naive to think Cunningham and Doncic's situations aren't different than what Edwards went through this season, but it seems silly that he won't be on an All-NBA team. He has been named All-NBA Second Team twice in his professional career. This season felt like a great opportunity for him to earn a spot on the first team for the first time.

Anybody who followed the league closely knows that Edwards performed, at a minimum, like one of the best 15 players in the NBA, and probably closer to the top 10. The league considers him five games short of the 65-game requirement, since he played only three minutes in an October game against the Pacers.

When the league implemented the rule, there were obviously going to be situations like Edwards', where a top player came up just short. Does it feel a little broken in the moment? Certainly. Will it help the league with load management in the future? Who knows?

For a league that seems hard-set on keeping the regular season at 82 games due to "historical numbers," it seems pretty counterintuitive not to recognize one of your brightest stars as a top player because he was four games short of an arbitrary number.

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