Sources: Players in bubble eligible for ROY in ’21

The NBA has decided that players who make their NBA debut in the bubble — a group most notably led by Denver Nuggets forward Bol Bol — will remain eligible for the Rookie of the Year award for the 2020-21 season, league sources told ESPN.

Bol, a 7-foot-2 forward on a two-way deal with the Nuggets, didn’t play in an NBA game before the league shut down in March. He has impressed in scrimmages at the Walt Disney World Resort bubble, so the question arose whether Bol would be eliminated from Rookie of the Year contention next season if he played in one of Denver’s seeding games this summer.

Voters had to submit their choices for this year’s awards to the league office by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. According to sources, the NBA’s decision came down to the fact that since seeding games won’t count toward this year’s ballot, it doesn’t make sense to penalize a player such as Bol from being eligible next season.

Bol, the son of former NBA player Manute Bol, had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks in 32 minutes in Denver’s 89-82 win over Washington last Wednesday. He followed with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in a 119-104 loss to New Orleans on Sunday and 10 points, 6 rebounds and a block in 19 minutes in a 114-110 loss to Orlando on Monday.

Bol was the 44th pick in June’s NBA draft after his lone season at Oregon was cut short by a foot injury.

Denver, which enters the NBA’s restart in third place in the Western Conference, will begin play in seeding games at 1 p.m. Saturday against the Miami Heat.