ESPN Analyst Makes NBA MVP Case for Mavs Luka Doncic
With a little over 20 games remaining in the 2021-22 regular season, there's plenty of opportunity for teams to improve their playoff positioning and for players to solidify their candidacy for awards. Could Luka Doncic realistically make inroads on the NBA MVP race?
Doncic has taken his game to new heights leading into the NBA All-Star break. Over the last 10 games, he's averaging 35.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 9.8 assists while shooting 48.8 percent from the floor and 43.3 percent from beyond the arc.
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Overall, Doncic is up to averages of 27.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.0 assists all while leading the Mavericks to a 29-15 record when he plays. If he sustains averages of at least 27 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, he will join Oscar Robertson and LeBron James as the only players in NBA history to post those numbers in multiple seasons.
During a recent episode of ESPN's NBA Today, Richard Jefferson shared his thoughts on the MVP race — stating that Luka Doncic perhaps deserves more consideration to win the award than what he's been getting.
"Dallas and Philly have the exact same record, they have the same amount of wins. So before we start crowning Joel Embiid MVP because he's been putting up these historic numbers, we've just seen what Luka is doing; 40 and 15, done it twice this month," Jefferson said.
"He is playing at another level and if he continues playing like this, before we start saying 'Philly is number one in this' they have the exact same record, so if they're both dominating in the same way, then I think maybe this race can get a little bit closer than what some people think."
In the NBA MVP race, the favorite to win the award has been Joel Embiid for a fair amount of time, but Nikola Jokic has remained a popular pick among some. Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMar DeRozan, and Chris Paul have been names to keep a close eye on.
Paul is set to miss time due to a thumb fracture and will be re-evaluated in six-to-eight weeks — making it unlikely for him to be a serious threat for the MVP award at this point.
DeRozan has been on a similar tear as Doncic as of late, and has even managed to break a Wilt Chamberlain record with his incredible scoring. In fact, the only player in the whole NBA averaging more points per game over the last 10 games than Doncic is DeRozan.
Antetokounmpo (33.4) and Embiid (33.2) each have been putting up huge scoring numbers over the last 10 games as well.
The Mavericks will need to continue to win games but appear to be only within reach of potentially moving up to fourth in the Western Conference at a maximum. It's challenging to make ground on players who rank higher in their respective conference and are also putting up massive numbers.
Even if Doncic were to come up short in the MVP race, there appears to be significant potential is in his outlook to earn a spot on one of the All-NBA teams.
