On Sunday, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was named a finalist for the 2023-24 KIA NBA Player of the Year Award.
Doncic joins two other finalists, including overwhelming favorites Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder. If Doncic is named MVP, he will become the first Maverick player to win the award since Dirk Nowitzki in the 2006-07 season. Regardless of which finalist wins the honor, this will be the sixth consecutive year that an internationally-born player will win MVP.
April 21, 2024. Los Angeles, California, USA.Who protects Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77)?
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Regardless of the outcome, this will be Doncic's highest ranking in NBA MVP voting in his career. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting every season from 2019-20 to 2022-23, finishing fourth in 2019-20.
Doncic has been named to the All-NBA First Team for four consecutive seasons and is certain to be named to the First Team again this season. Only 27 players have been named to the All-NBA First Team five or more times. He's only 25 years old and has done it five times in his first six seasons.
Doncic averaged an impressive 33.9 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.2 rebounds, making him the first player in NBA history to average at least 33 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists in a season.
He was able to keep the Mavericks afloat while Kyrie Irving dealt with injuries early in the season, and then the front office acquired P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline, allowing the Mavs to stay until the end of the season. He helped the team achieve 50 wins. . There was some push from analysts like Chris Broussard for Doncic to win MVP, but perhaps it was too little, too late.
MVP is expected to be announced in the coming weeks, but a date has not yet been announced. Last year, the winners were announced on May 5th.
