Lakers point guard Luka Doncic may not play again this season, but head coach JJ Redick continues to support his MVP case.
While we don’t yet know who this year’s winner is, we know it won’t be the Slovenian star, as he wasn’t among the finalists. Surprisingly, Redick recognized that others had a stronger case than Doncic this year, but he still can’t help feeling disappointed that such a historic season will ultimately be forgotten.
“Disappointed. I think he deserved to be there, and I think all three guys who did end up being finalists had strong cases,” Doncic said, via Daniel Starkand. “A lot of this, unfortunately, is media momentum. Sometimes, a team, I guess we underperformed even though we didn’t have any expectations coming into the year. But I guess we underperformed for a couple of months despite him getting Player of the Month one of those months. The media momentum just never got built.”
MVP voting depends on several factors and varies from year to year. Typically, it goes to the best player on the best team, but there have been some years when narratives or storylines play a more prominent role. Dating back to 2021, the MVP order has been: Nikola Jokic, Nikola Jokic (2022), Joel Embiid (2023), Nikola Jokic (2024), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2025).
Prior to this season, the closest Luka ever came to winning the MVP was in 2024, when he finished third with averages of 33.9 points (career high), 9.2 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game on 48.7% shooting and 38.2% from three. According to Redick, however, Luka has never had a more MVP-worthy season than this one, even if it ultimately fell short compared to Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
In 64 games for the Lakers, Doncic averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game on 48.7% shooting and 38.2% shooting from three. Despite not having expectations going into the season, Doncic (alongside Austin Reaves) led the Lakers to a top-four seed in the West, helping them rise to contender status (at 53-29) before suffering his latest setback.
This time, it’s a Grade 2 hamstring strain that’s the trouble. With a 4-6-week recovery time, the prognosis isn’t good for Doncic’s potential return for the first round. That means we may not see Luka suit up again for the rest of the season, putting all the pressure on LeBron James, Marcus Smart, and Luke Kennard to carry the load.
Whatever happens, Luka’s season deserves recognition. Besides being the NBA’s leading scorer, he elevated his Lakers team to true contender status, with an impact that’s impossible to ignore. Still, in the end, Doncic’s greatest limitation is also his great argument against being MVP: defense. Besides being a liability for the Lakers, that critical flaw has also kept Doncic from winning the MVP award.
This season, besides the team record (11 games behind the Thunder), it’s likely the biggest reason that he wasn’t higher on the MVP ballots. So, if Doncic really wants to add the Michael Jordan trophy to his collection of accolades, he’ll need to start playing both ends of the floor, just like the reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander does on a nightly basis.
