Nikola Jokic's knee injury has turned the NBA MVP race on its head.
The Denver Nuggets star, on pace to lead the league in assists and rebounds, is set to miss multiple weeks — and it means he might be ineligible to win his fourth MVP award.
ESPN's Kevin Pelton writes that Jokic's injury leaves Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the "overwhelming favorite" to repeat as the league's MVP.
But Luka Doncic is entering the chat with some force, as his Los Angeles Lakers just keep on winning.
MORE: Luka Dončić keeps Lakers perfect in clutch time
The Lakers woke up Monday with a 22-11 record, the fourth-best in basketball.
And after flirting with a triple-double in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, Doncic remains the NBA's leading scorer at 33.7 points per game. That would be the fourth-highest single-season average in Lakers history.
However, the Lakers' record has been propped up by their perfect mark in "clutch" games. Their point differential for the season is zero, despite the impressive record.
Doncic will have to keep this up — and if he misses 10 more games through injury or rest, his own chances to win his first MVP would disappear, as he would no longer be meeting the NBA's games-played threshold.
"(Doncic) has performed at (MVP) level individually, but I'm skeptical of the Lakers' chances of remaining in the top six, which is probably a necessary bar for him to threaten Gilgeous-Alexander," Pelton wrote.
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