Jalen Brunson Uses Mavs' Luka Doncic as Example to Criticize Nikola Jokic's MVP Case

The MVP race is in full swing as the NBA season nears its halfway point, and for once, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic isn't in the thick of it. He's dealing with a calf strain that has kept him out since Christmas Day, which will make him ineligible for any postseason awards once he misses one more game.
Doncic entered the season as the favorite to win MVP following an incredible 2023-24 campaign, averaging nearly a 34-point triple-double. Still, the further removed from that season, the more it looks like he was snubbed for his first MVP win as Denver's Nikola Jokic won his third. That has led to criticism of the MVP voting process, including by Doncic's former teammate and current New York Knick, Jalen Brunson.
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"Jokic is playing absolutely absurd, his numbers are crazy," Brunson started on his podcast, "The Roommates Show." "[Denver is] not seeded where they were last year, right? And people are still talking about him being MVP. Individually, he deserves it, but when Luka was averaging damn near a triple-double [last season], but their seed wasn't where people wanted it to be, they were like, 'Oh, he shouldn't get MVP because of his seeding.' Obviously, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] is getting up there, closing in as the number one guy right now, I'm just like, 'Why do certain narratives work for some people?'
Brunson was a part of the MVP conversation last year as well, as he led the New York Knicks to the second seed in the Eastern Conference while averaging 28.7 PPG. His numbers have "dipped" to 25.1 PPG this season, but the Knicks are a much better team, and yet he's tied for 9th in MVP odds on FanDuel at +50000.
The MVP award has been under heavy criticism for the last few years, as there's never been a clear direction on which way the voters will go. Sometimes, it's the best player on the best team, the best player overall, or a mix of both. No one batted an eye when Jokic won the MVP in 2022 despite the Nuggets winning 48 games and finishing as the sixth seed in the West, as his team was dealing with injuries. But no one gave credibility to Doncic's campaign last season when he won 50 games and finished as the 5th seed while also having his team around him deal with injuries. He finished third in the MVP race behind Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander.
Doncic will have to wait at least one more season to win MVP, but his case may never be as good as it was in the 2023-24 season, as this current iteration of the Mavericks is the most talented it's ever been.
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