Arguably the most underrated storyline of the New York Knicks’ 50-win campaign was Donte DiVincenzo , who developed into a starting-caliber player.
He has improved dramatically on both sides of the ball. Many have argued that he is entitled to the league’s annual Most Improved Player award.
But according to James Herbert of CBS Sports, he is not eligible to be on the ballot.
“DiVincenzo, however, is not eligible for the Most Improved Player award, per NBA collective bargaining agreement rules,” Herbert wrote on April 16 . “He will not receive a single vote.”
Herbert goes on to cite the rule that excludes DiVincenzo.
“…Specifically, a player must have played at least (a) 65 regular season games, or (b) 62 regular season games, have suffered a season-ending injury as determined in accordance with the CBA, and before suffer such an injury had he played at least 85% of his team’s regular season matches, provided that for these purposes he has not played at least 20 minutes of such match. more than two games for the Regular Season, a player is considered to have played the game if he played at least 15 and less than 20 minutes”.
By this metric, DiVincenzo has played just 64 games this season, one shy of eligibility.