Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo takes NBA award eligibility snub in stride

Donte DiVincenzo thinks the NBA will fix the flaw in the system.

After being the surprised victim of growing pains in the league’s new 65-game rule, DiVincenzo took in stride — “it is what it is,” he said — and acknowledged it was hardly a guarantee he’d have won Most Improved Player regardless.

Despite averaging 38 minutes since February, the Knicks guard was ruled 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 problem was DiVincenzo, who finished with 81 games, started the season as a reserve and didn’t begin logging heavy minutes until about a quarter into the season.

He missed the cutoff by 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.”