LOS ANGELES — Lakers guard Luka Doncic will be eligible for postseason awards after the NBA and NBA players' association announced Thursday they ruled in his favor on his extraordinary circumstances appeal of the 65-game rule.

Doncic, a leading candidate for most valuable player and a lock for his sixth All-NBA team, played in 64 games before he suffered a regular-season ending left hamstring injury on April 2. The league's latest collective bargaining agreement requires players to appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for postseason awards, but Doncic and Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham both won appeals under the CBA's extraordinary circumstances provision.

Doncic missed two games in December to attend the birth of his daughter in Slovenia and Cunningham, whose career-best season led the Pistons to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, missed 12 games because of a collapsed lung suffered on March 17.

"I am grateful to the NBPA for advocating on my behalf and to the NBA for their fair decision," Doncic wrote in a statement on social media. "It was so important to me to be present for the birth of my daughter in December and I appreciate Mark [Walter], Jeanie [Buss], Rob [Pelinka], JJ [Redick], and the entire Lakers organization for fully supporting me and allowing me to travel to be there."

Doncic earned his second league scoring title this season with an average of 33.5 points per game. He surged back into the most valuable player race with a magical March when he was just the second player to score 600 points in the month, joining Michael Jordan. He had three consecutive games of 40 or more points and 13 of 30 or more before injuring his hamstring on April 2. He and guard Austin Reaves (oblique) are out indefinitely as the Lakers begin the playoffs Saturday against the Houston Rockets.

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