Can Luka Doncic win the MVP award this season?
Luka Doncic has been impressive for the Dallas Mavericks at the start of this new NBA season, as he is their star player and the team is doing quite well at the moment. The Slovenian star has been averaging 26.7 PPG, 9.1 Assists and 9.9 Rebounds. In any other season, these numbers would put him in the race for sure, but is this the case for the current NBA season?
Even though the Dallas Mavericks lost their clash with the Los Angeles Lakers from almost two weeks ago, Doncic's performance from that match made pundits and experts, as well as normal NBA fans talk about his candidacy for the MVP Award of this season. He played a great match against a strong Lakers team, and was arguably the star of that game, in which LeBron James played as well. The Slovenian star is definitely having a great season so far and is doing the bulk of the work for his team, but is this enough to make him a strong candidate?
With James Harden looking to have another historical season, Giannis Antetokounmpo heating up for the Milwaukee Bucks, and LeBron James having a way better season for the Los Angeles Lakers compared to last year, it is hard to find a spot for Doncic in the race, against more experienced players of the NBA, who also play for better teams and are poised to get better rankings in the league table at the end of the regular season.
But, the Slovenian star is not without hope. The fact that he is the main engine of the Mavericks's team this year, with Kristpas Porzingis not being as good so far, as he was expected to be, Doncic comes out as the better universal player. The Slovenian player is averaging almost a triple-double per game this season, something that the other candidates can not brag about at this point. He has great offensive stats, as good as LeBron or Giannis, and better defensive stats than the other players.
What is important for Doncic's case, is the fact that the voters for the MVP Award did not give that much importance to James Harden's impressive offensive numbers last season. The Houston Rockets's star lost the race then to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had better all-round numbers at the end of the regular season, as he was also a top defensive player in the East Conference. If the Dallas Mavericks manage to get more than 55 wins in this regular season, and retain a Top 5 spot in the Western Conference when all is said and done, Doncic might actually have a shot at that MVP Award, if he can improve his current numbers, or be consistent with them.
In the end, at this point of the season it is hard to see Luka Doncic winning the MVP Award, as there are players who are having seasons slightly better than him, and also play for better teams. Even so, if the Dallas Mavericks manage to remain a top team in the West until the end of the regular season, and Doncic continues to impress as their main player, he will definitely be one of the top contenders for the MVP Award.