Doncic Climbs Past Curry on MVP Ladder; Should He Be Ahead of Morant?

A switch has officially been flipped for Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic. Although he's been on a tear since the calendar officially turned to 2022, Doncic has taken his level of play to new heights recently by averaging 34 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists over his last 10 games. He's also shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from 3-point range during that span.

Luka Doncic enjoying the clutch play of Spencer Dinwiddie.

Luka Doncic shoots over Andrew Wiggins.

Luka Doncic celebrates a 3-pointer in Dirk Nowitzki fashion.

Doncic's play has not only helped the Mavs (38-25) achieve a season-high 13 games over .500, but it's also improved his status in the MVP conversation. The day after he scored 41 points in the Mavs' second win over the Golden State Warriors in five days, Doncic surpassed Steph Curry and Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker on NBA.com's MVP Ladder.

The top-10 players on the list are as follows: 1) Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets), 2) Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), 3) Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), 4) DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls), 5) Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies), 6) Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), 7) Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), 8) Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors), 9) Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns), 10) Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz).

Ja Morant vs. Luka Doncic has been a hot topic all season.

Ja Morant continues to dazzle with high-scoring performances and unreal athleticism.

Steph Curry was passed up by Doncic on the MVP ladder after two losses to Dallas in three games.

Although Doncic sits just outside the top-5, a strong case can be made for him to surpass Ja Morant. As awesome and electrifying as Morant has been this season, it seems that the only thing keeping him ahead of Doncic at this point is overall team record. The Grizzlies are 43-21 and sit 4.5 games ahead of the Mavs in the West standings. However, the Mavs are 3-1 vs. the Grizzlies this season, and Doncic is 2-0 in head-to-head matchups with Morant.

Another factor to take into considerations is team record when a star player doesn't play. After all, they call it "most valuable player" for a reason, right? Dallas is 6-9 when Doncic doesn't play this season, whereas Memphis is 12-2 when Morant has had to miss time.

Both Doncic and Morant are incredible young talents that are on pace to light up the NBA for years to come. To make an MVP case for Doncic over Morant isn't an indictment of what Morant has accomplished when he's been on the court this season. It's simply just another way to put proper context on this season as a whole. Let's see how the young stars close out the year as the postseason nears.