LeBron James, Anthony Davis are officially eligible for postseason awards
Both LeBron James and Anthony Davis have met the 65-game threshold, making them eligible for postseason awards this season.
Lakers fans might have raised a few eyebrows last season when the NBA announced the 65-game requirement for postseason awards. To that point, neither LeBron James nor Anthony Davis had played in 65 games for the Lakers in a single season.
This season, though, both have experienced their best stretch of health for either player while donning the purple and gold. Friday’s contest against the Pacers marked the 65th game — 64 regular season games and one In-Season Tournament (IST) final — for LeBron while AD had crossed that threshold weeks prior.
As a result, both are now eligible for postseason awards.
LeBron James has reached the 65-game criteria.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) March 29, 2024
He is now eligible for postseason honors.
James has been named All-NBA 19 seasons in a row.
This is the first time James and Anthony Davis have played 65+ games together in one season.
AD’s 69 games this season are the most he’s played not just as a Laker but the most since his 2017-18 season. Likewise, LeBron played 67 games in his second season with the Lakers, a total he will likely surpass this season.
Both are likely to earn awards this season as their availability has, unsurprisingly, resulted in impressive seasons. For LeBron, it’s arguably the most efficient scoring season of his Lakers career while AD is having his most dominant and routinely impactful season in Los Angeles.
Davis will receive consideration for Defensive Player of the Year but is certainly an underdog in that race. Still, his dominant performance on that end is going to, at the very least, earn him a spot on the All-Defense team.
Both players are likely to also earn spots on All-NBA teams. Davis hasn’t earned a spot on the list of elites in the league since the 2019-20 season and has only earned All-NBA honors four times.
LeBron, though, has been a fixture on those teams, as one might expect. The only time he hasn’t made an All-NBA team in his career was his rookie season.
Had the Lakers been more consistent or translated their IST form to the regular season, one or both players would likely be in MVP conversations, too. And to that point, LeBron was named MVP of the IST after the Lakers victory over the Pacers.
While 65 games is a fairly arbitrary number, for the Lakers, it signifies the best health LeBron and AD have had together as teammates, which should give fans optimism for their postseason hopes.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.