Despite being unexpectedly excluded from consideration for the Most Improved Player award due to the league’s new 65-game rule, DiVincenzo remained philosophical, stating “It is what it is.”
The New York Knicks guard acknowledged that even if he had been eligible, winning the award was far from certain.
Despite averaging 38 minutes per game since February, the Knicks guard was deemed ineligible for postseason awards because he didn’t play 20 or more minutes in at least 63 games (plus two games of playing at least 15 minutes).
The issue arose because DiVincenzo, who played a total of 81 games, started the season as a reserve and only began seeing significant minutes about a quarter into the season. He missed the eligibility cutoff by just nine seconds in a single game.
“I think the league will probably look at the rule going forward, but it’s not something where if I got the nine seconds, I’m a shoe-in to win the award,” DiVincenzo said.
“It’s not that situation. So, for me, I don’t really care about it. I think going forward, you look at the rule. You adjust it accordingly. And you just go from there. And that’s pretty much the only thinking.”
Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo takes NBA award eligibility snub in stride https://t.co/OFPbh6LxKr pic.twitter.com/zZnzJyDFsG
— New York Post (@nypost) April 18, 2024
