When Luka Doncic was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers last season, it was one of the most shocking trades at the NBA trade deadline in NBA history. It had major ramifications across the league and for Luka as well.
There were questions about him being in shape. He was traded from Dallas to Los Angeles despite the fact that he led to the Mavericks to the NBA Finals the season before. Doncic has never won an NBA MVP award before. Will this finally be the year that he is going to win it?
NBA Insider Questions If this will Be the Year that Los Angeles Lakers Luka Doncic Wins the MVP
ESPN.com ranked its Top 100 enter players entering the 2025-26 NBA season. Despite some of the criticisms that Doncic has received from the media in the past, he is no doubt a top five player in the league. In the latest player rankings, he is ranked number three in ESPN's Top 100 NBA players.
This should not come as a surprise to anyone. Only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets are ranked ahead of him. With Doncic being ranked third, this could open up the possibility for him to finally win an MVP award this season.
Dave McMenamin of espn.com said,
"First, he transformed his body with a rigorous workout and dietary regimen. Then he signed a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Lakers. And he topped it all off by leading Slovenia to the quarterfinals at EuroBasket, averaging 34.7 points per game in the international competition. A year ago, Doncic was coming off a surprise run to the NBA Finals with the Mavericks and was considered the best young basketball player in the game. After a season of upheaval, marred by a lengthy calf strain injury and a shocking trade to the Lakers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took that title from him, being named MVP and Finals MVP while leading the Thunder to the championship. Is the 26-year-old Doncic -- with the third-highest regular-season scoring average and second-highest postseason scoring average in league history -- ready to continue his trajectory and earn his first MVP along the way?"
He had a great summer of training and getting himself into game shape. With Doncic being the face of the Lakers now and not LeBron James, this will be very important for the future of the franchise. He is 26 years old and is in the prime of his career. They were the third seed in the west last season. If he has an MVP season, they will be near the top of the conference standings once again.
During the 2024-25 season, he averaged 28.2 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 7.7 APG, 0.4 BPG, and 1.8 SPG. Doncic also shot 45.0% from the field. Hopefully he is ready to dominate the league in 2025-26. The best bet to win the MVP if it is not Gilgeous-Alexander or Jokic is Doncic. The ESPN rankings got it correct with him being the third best player in the NBA. He is going to average nearly a triple-double once again this season.
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