Luka Doncic has had a mixed start to the season, laboring through the first month of the season as the Dallas Mavericks went 5-7 before missing a week with a wrist injury which revitalized his form. The Mavericks are 18-10 now and 6-2 without Doncic in games, as he missed the team’s last two encounters due to a heel injury.
Doncic was asked by Slovenian media regarding his MVP chances, especially having missed eight games this early in the season. The guard brushed off MVP contention to put the focus on a championship.
“Yes, I think it’s around 10 more games or something like that. But it’s better this (the injuries) happens now. My focus point really is a ring, so that doesn’t matter right now.”
Luka talks about injuries affecting MVP chances
Source: https://t.co/vEUEUd7j41 pic.twitter.com/2ekcNuIdlv
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) December 22, 2024
Doncic is averaging 28.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists this season. He’s looked like a bonafide MVP candidate over the last seven games (30.1 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 8.7 APG) he’s played, as the Mavericks have rocketed up to the No. 4 seed in the West. If the franchise continues their winning ways and Doncic stays healthy, his MVP case might be undeniable.
He can only miss 9 more games this season to meet the 65-game eligibility for awards and All-NBA consideration.
Doncic likely will struggle to overtake either Nikola Jokic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the MVP rankings, as Shai’s OKC Thunder already look like locks for the No. 1 seed in the Conference while Jokic’s statistical dominance with the Denver Nuggets has made him the early leader for a fourth MVP in five seasons.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is also in the race for MVP by leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a miraculous turnaround on historic statistics, winning the NBA Cup for the franchise. The Bucks need to have a better record for Giannis to be a top-line contender, but that seems possible given their form over the last month.
The only other potential MVP candidate who can rival Luka is Boston Celtics’ wing Jayson Tatum, but his stacked supporting cast and inconsistent scoring will make it challenging for him to compete at the level of the other candidates.
Doncic doesn’t need to prioritize winning MVP despite being a top contender for the last five seasons and always falling short due to different narratives. Many argued he should’ve been MVP last season for leading the Mavericks to 50 wins while the team suffered multiple injuries and made major mid-season trades, but Jokic’s softer stats on the superior seed won out.
His only other real MVP case came in 2021-22, again leading the Mavericks to 50 wins with unreal statistics while the team made a major mid-season trade and had injury problems. He lost that MVP also to Jokic, who put up the best numbers of his career on the lower-seed Nuggets without his two co-stars for the entire season.
With Shai also becoming a more credible contender this season, it doesn’t look like the fans who have been pining for Doncic to win MVP will have their moment this year. It’s frustrating in light of the shifting goalposts every season, but Luka himself hasn’t ever made a big deal about winning the trophy, consistently bringing up winning the NBA Finals whenever he’s asked about MVP.
He’s still just 25 years old and has a long career ahead of him, with the Mavericks better-positioned for team success now than at any point of Luka’s career before this, including last season when they made the NBA Finals.
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