Luka Doncic has always been a problem. But after his trade to Los Angeles, he might be a man on a mission. According to Warriors forward Draymond Green, the superstar guard is looking more motivated than ever after his midseason move to Los Angeles, and he believes it could spark the biggest year of Doncic’s career.
“Luka is looking like rookie Luka all over again,” Green posted on Instagram. “The trade has created that hunger again, it seems! Also, the perfect year to go win his first MVP award.”
Draymond Green knows a winner when he sees one. While he may not be an MVP candidate himself, he’s a 4x champion, 4x All-Star, and a former Defensive Player of the Year. With career averages of 8.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game on 42.4% shooting, he’s not a stat-sheet stuffer, but he’s still a legend in Golden State and one of the league’s most respected veteran players.
While Dray has spoken highly of Doncic before, there’s something different about this summer. Ever since his trade from the Mavericks in February, Luka has been on a mission to prove his worth and dispel any doubts about his commitment to the craft.
In his first offseason in Los Angeles, Luka is taking drastic measures to ensure he’s at his peak next season. Besides getting on a strict diet regimen, he’s also been training and working all summer to build up his stamina, stay in shape, and slim down to a more appropriate size. He even took a break from the game altogether for the first time in his career.
As for Draymond’s MVP prediction, it’s one of the few accolades that have eluded Doncic so far. Despite career averages of 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game on 45.0% shooting, the Slovenian star has never won MVP. The closest he ever came was in the 2023-24 campaign, when he finished third in MVP voting.
Going into next season, Luka is primed to have a career year, but will it be enough to add an MVP trophy to his collection? We know he’ll be among the highest scorers in the NBA, but it’ll take more than that to earn MVP honors. To win MVP, he’ll need to lead the Lakers to a top-three seed, just like he helped them do in the second half of last season.
The good news this year is that he’ll get to play alongside a starting-caliber center in Deandre Ayton. As usual, he’ll also get some help from LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura, and that should make life much easier for him.
If Doncic stays healthy and keeps this level of focus, the MVP chatter won’t just be a preseason headline; it’ll be a legitimate campaign. He’s entering the season with something to prove, not just to Dallas or the league, but to himself. With LeBron James passing the torch and the Lakers fully invested in his leadership, Luka finally has the platform and supporting cast to showcase the absolute best version of his game.
And if this offseason is any indication, that version could be the scariest one we’ve seen yet. The league was already struggling to contain Luka at 75%. Now that he’s in the best shape of his life and fully locked in? An MVP run isn’t just possible—it’s borderline inevitable.
