Lakers’ Luka Doncic Is Forcing a Major MVP Debate, And Latest Recognition Says It All

With the playoffs approaching, Doncic’s dominance is elevating the Lakers, and raising serious questions about the MVP race.

Mar 27, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) gestures during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | William Liang-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers have been scorching hot as of late, with the team winning 15 games in March, with only two losses to the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons.

One of the main reasons for the team’s recent success has been the incredible performances by superstar guard Luka Doncic, who has been having the best season of his NBA career while leading the league in scoring at 33.8 points per game while dishing out 8.3 assists per contest (3rd in the NBA).

Luka Doncic Earns Western Conference Player of the Month Honors

On Thursday, ahead of the highly anticipated matchup against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the league announced that Doncic has been named Western Conference Player of the Month for the second time during the 2025-26 campaign.

Okay, here we go. Wemby was the "Defensive" Western Conference Player of the Month. Luka Doncic is the Western Conference Player of the Month: pic.twitter.com/xzWElwMTCz

— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) April 2, 2026

Doncic took his game to another level entirely in March, averaging an impressive 37.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game, while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 39.2 percent from beyond the arc.

The Slovenian product has played at such a high level while leading the Lakers to nightly wins, making a case to be a legitimate candidate for NBA MVP. Even though Gilgeous-Alexander and San Antonio Spurs rising star Victor Wembanyama seem to be neck and neck in the race for the regular-season award, Doncic has definitely stirred the pot, as of late, as he is now the only player in the league this season to win a Player of the Month twice. 

With Doncic making headlines on a daily basis with career and franchise milestones, Thursday’s game in Oklahoma City at the Paycom Center will be interesting, to say the least, with the Lakers superstar and the reigning NBA MVP going head-to-head in the first of two meetings in the final stretch of the season.

If Doncic has another big game while leading the Lakers to win over the Thunder on their home floor, the MVP race could take a drastic turn, with the league’s leading scorers potentially getting a significant bump in the ranking with only a handful of games left before the NBA playoffs get underway on April 18.

After facing the defending champions in Oklahoma City on Thursday, the Lakers will host Gilgeous-Alexander and company on April 7, which will be another highly anticipated matchup between these two Western Conference heavyweights, regardless of Thursday’s outcome.

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