NBA awards races will include a new wrinkle this upcoming season: a minimum games played requirement.
Players are required to be on the floor for at least 20 minutes for a minimum of 65 games in order to qualify for individual honors, such as All-NBA and MVP. That could make things interesting in a league in which rest has become rampant to the point that new rules have been implemented aimed at curtailing load management.
This new requirement would have altered the Defensive Player of the Year race last season as Jaren Jackson Jr. appeared in only 63 games. A few other winners just barely made the cut: MVP Joel Embiid and Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen both played 66 games and Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon was on the floor for 67.
This new requirement is important to keep in mind when it comes to NBA awards odds for the coming campaign, especially considering Giannis Antetokounmpo — one of the favorites to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year — played in just 63 games last year, which would have disqualified him from the running.