Luka Doncic Reveals Thoughts on Being Snubbed in MVP Talks
When attempting to predict the winner of the NBA MVP race, it's become a challenging task. Two of the common predictions have been Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic as the front-runners with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant, and even DeMar DeRozan receiving some attention after that.
With the Dallas Mavericks being among the better teams in not only the Western Conference, but the NBA as a whole, Luka Doncic's individual success should garner more consideration for MVP. He's averaging 28.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 8.7 assists in 62 appearances.
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Doncic insists he tries to not pay attention to what's said about the MVP race. Instead, he’s more focused on making sure the Mavericks enter the first round of the playoffs with home-court advantage for the first time since 2011.
“I don’t know,” Doncic said. “The media talks about it. I try not to pay attention too much. I saw some, but it doesn’t matter. … We’re winning. That’s what I care [about]. Our goal is to get home advantage. We’re so close. We’ve got three games left, and that’s our goal right now.”
The resume Doncic has put together as an MVP candidate has become quite impressive. He's the only player in the NBA averaging at least 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. In fact, Doncic will join James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Michael Jordan, and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to average such figures within a single season.
If you consider Jokic, Embiid, Antetokounmpo, and perhaps Jayson Tatum as the current top MVP candidates, Doncic has led the Mavericks to a 6-2 record against them. None of the other candidates have a better head-to-head record against each other.
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Doncic's most recent win against a fellow MVP candidate came on Sunday when he recorded 32 points, eight rebounds, and 15 assists against Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Obviously when you’re playing superstars like Giannis today, you always have extra motivation,” Doncic said. “He’s a champion, he’s a two-time MVP. You just give a little bit extra.”
In each of the last two seasons, Doncic has entered the season opener as being considered an MVP front-runner by many oddsmakers. The narrative this season was that he entered the season overweight and got off to a slow start, and that his candidacy seemingly was unable to recover.
Next season, Doncic will surely enter Game 1 of 82 being in shape and ready to lead the Mavericks to the next level. Pair that with the fact that Doncic won’t have any overlap on offense with Kristaps Porzingis needing to be more involved, and stars could be aligned.
