ESPN analyst and NBA MVP voter Tim Bontemps appeared on a recent episode of “Pod Mavericks” with Kirk Henderson to talk about the Dallas Mavericks, including where Luka Doncic stands in the award race. We discussed many topics regarding.
Prompted by a question from the chat, Bontemps went on to explain why he thinks Doncic couldn't catch Nikola Jokic in the MVP race, and how the Mavericks' 38-44 loss last season meant they didn't make it to the play-in tournament. He explained in detail why he was unable to qualify for the competition. that.
“I didn't think Luka would win because it has nothing to do with Luka, but if he had come into this season the way he did two years ago, he would have had more momentum early on and he won that much. We wouldn't have had to do much to make up for it,” Bontemps continued. “I don't necessarily think people are blaming Luka per se…The Mavericks had a very disappointing end last season, and things like that naturally carry over into this type of discussion.”
April 2, 2024. San Francisco, California, USA.Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) puffs out his chest.
Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Bontemps said that for Doncic to have a strong chance of winning next season's MVP, he needs to lead the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals this season, or at least win a close game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals. I expect there will be.
“If Dallas makes it to the conference finals this year or has a great run in seven straight games against the Thunder, possibly in the second round, I think Luka will enter next season as the favorite to win MVP,” Bontemps said. explained.
Bontemps conducted ESPN's MVP straw poll. washington post Since 2016-17, we have asked 100 members of the media to vote for MVP, just as we did for the regular season award. There has been some backlash from Mavericks fans over reports about Doncic's chances of winning MVP.
Doncic averaged a career-high 33.9 points and 9.8 assists this season, along with 9.2 rebounds, making him the first player in points, assists and rebounds per game since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971-72. Achieved the highest total total.
Doncic and the Mavs won 50 games, earned the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, and had more wins than the Denver Nuggets in both of Jokic's first two MVP seasons.
Jokic appears to be on track to win a third MVP award, even though some voters like Chris Broussard have publicly stated that they voted for Doncic. Most of the votes released so far were in favor of Jokic.
