According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Nuggets rookie Bol Bol will remain eligible as a candidate for the Rookie of the Year award next season even if he plays in regular season games this year inside the bubble.
Any player who makes his NBA debut inside the bubble once games begin Thursday -- like Denver Nuggets big man Bol Bol -- will remain eligible for next year's Rookie of the Year award, league sources tell ESPN.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) July 28, 2020
Bontemps clarified in a later tweet that this line of thinking comes as an addition to the decision made earlier to exclude the eight seeding games from counting towards this season’s awards.