Anthony Edwards becomes latest NBA star bitten by awards eligibility rules with 17th absence

Anthony Edwards will not be playing Thursday. That also means he won’t be winning any NBA honors after the season. The Minnesota Timberwolves guard became the latest NBA star to feel the bite of the league’s controversial awards eligibility rules on Thursday, when he was ruled out for the T-wolves’ game against the Detroit Pistons with right knee pain and an illness .

The absence will be his 17th of the season, making it impossible for him to reach the 65-game minimum to be eligible for All-NBA and MVP voting. Edwards received All-NBA second-team honors and a seventh-place finish in NBA MVP voting in each of the past two seasons. This season, he is averaging a career-29.

3 points per game on a career-high 49. 3% field goal shooting. His critical mass of absences built gradually.

He missed four games in the first month of the season with a hamstring issue, then another three games in December with a foot injury. That foot then caused him to miss another three games in January. Edwards was still on track for eligibility entering March, but he was knocked out for six straight games with knee inflammation.