It feels like it is a matter of when, not if, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic wins an MVP award. He has been in the running for three consecutive years, as he has finished in the top-six each NBA season during that span.
A few circumstances were holding him back each time that kept him from being a legitimate threat to take home the award. Team success was part of it, as their fourth-place finish last season was the best out of the three seasons.
Doncic has also been a slow starter at times, working his way into shape during the season or battling a nagging injury. For a player to win the MVP award, a perfect storm is needed and that could occur for him this upcoming season.
15 scouts, coaches and executives from around the league were polled in a survey answering several questions over at ESPN. One of them was who would win the MVP award following the 2022-23 season and Doncic was one of the most popular answers.
He received four votes, which was tied with Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers for second most. Embiid has been the runner-up the last two seasons to Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, who did not receive a vote this year.
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Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks led the way with five votes. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies each received one vote to round things out.
When it comes to Doncic, things are certainly lining up for him to factor into the decision at the end of the season. As one NBA executive put it, what was considered a poor offseason for the team could benefit him in the MVP race.
“This is as wide open of a field as you could possibly have, because Giannis and Curry are back in the equation,” said a Western Conference executive.
“But I’ll take Luka. His numbers will be super high, [Christian] Wood will help, they’re going to win 50-plus games … losing Jalen Brunson stinks [but] whatever [Doncic’s] usage was last year, which was already off the charts, it will only boost his chances.”
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Doncic led the NBA with a usage rate of 37.4 in the regular season and that number increased in the postseason to 40.4. It would not be surprising to see his regular-season number fall somewhere in between those two with Jalen Brunson heading to the New York Knicks this offseason.
Doncic is going to have the ball in his hands as much as he can handle. Expected to once again challenge for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, things are certainly lining up for the Slovenian star to take home some hardware at the conclusion of the season.
