Luka Doncic probably won't be named the NBA's Most Valuable Player.
Doncic's candidacy is especially interesting as the Dallas Mavericks have won 16 of their past 18 games after showing valuable build-up throughout the season. It may not be enough yet. There are reasons for that, some more valid than others, but perhaps the most notable is that Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and just had a better season. maybe.
But what Doncic accomplished this year was more than the past four seasons, when he finished in the top eight in MVP voting and was named first-team All-NBA each time.he's gone in conversation or someone Worth mentioning. This season, he has surpassed those qualifications and reached a higher level. If he's the league's MVP, he'll get it.
Doncic has always declined to grandstand himself, but he's done so recently for reasons such as: athletic Sam Amick said, “I know some people do, but you know I don't.”
But his Mavericks teammates and coaches weren't so modest, wearing T-shirts that read this before and during Wednesday's win over the Miami Heat. Pravi MVP — Means “true MVP” in Slovenian.
“The real MVP, our MVP, is Luka,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said beforehand. “This is our campaign.”
Doncic's star teammate, Kyrie Irving, explained it even more passionately.
“It was a statement. We all knew how special this year was going to be, and (we) meant those of us in the locker room and in the organization, we knew.” said Irving. “He challenged his teammates, he challenged me, and he did it in his own way. I think that's the true mark of an MVP. Coming into the season, he took on a leadership role on both ends of the court. has actually begun to fulfill its purpose.
“His stats say it all. He's number one in a lot of different categories. He carried this team when I got injured and wasn't in the lineup. On his MVP case. There are many factors to consider, but as his brother I want to give him the utmost love and support. I want to see him win MVP.”
Even Irving seems to understand that Doncic likely won't do that.
“Even if it's not this year, it's going to happen eventually, in the near future,” he said.
The Real MVP🫡 Last night our players rocked Pravi MVP shirts. @luka7doncic.#PraviMVP // #MFFL pic.twitter.com/QGKQFuOU4R
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 11, 2024
But even if Doncic's breakthrough doesn't earn him this season's top individual award, it's still worthy of consideration, perhaps more than the one he won prior to Dallas' recent surge. His candidacy is subject to narrative, roster and other worthy candidates, but he may not be ready. But Doncic is.
Doncic has been arguably the toughest cover in the league over the past few years.
“It's been a nightmare,” Los Angeles Lakers manager Dervin Ham said last season. “We don't have the answers.”
Doncic doesn't have a favorite style of play. On any given night, he adapts to his opponent's choices to slow him down. He'll throw lobs against teams guarding pick-and-rolls in drop coverage. He will put on a solo scoring show against the team he is replacing. He'll throw a bold pass up the court at any opportunity. His only weakness used to be his inconsistent jumper. He's made more threes this season than any player other than Stephen Curry, hitting a career-high 38.2 percent.
By exploiting every inch of space within 30 feet of the rim, Doncic has exploded statistically. He has a career-best efficiency (61.7 true shooting percentage), leads the league in points (33.9 per game), and has 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per game. He led the league in scoring with 35 points, 40 points, and 45 points. He has the most points in a game this season with 73 points, but his incredibly impressive performance against the Atlanta Hawks is too often ignored in the midseason scoring overload debate. Find the right queries about his statistical performance and the league's own reputation. He's probably leading those ratings as well.
Dallas accepts this. Shortly into his rookie season, the team promised Doncic that he would become a statistical marquee player. He received the most touches in the league and dictated nearly every offensive possession on the court. It was a pragmatic choice based on Doncic's preferences, and it was proven by his brilliance. But it never led Dallas to a seed higher than No. 4. It's unlikely that Dallas will at least grab home court advantage from their confirmed first-round opponent, the LA Clippers, but it's most likely that the team will once again remain in fifth place.
Two seasons ago, Dallas finished fourth in the Western Conference, winning 52 games and reaching the conference finals. That season was similar to this one, with an injury-plagued start that necessitated roster changes at the trade deadline. Dallas finished 23-7 that season at the deadline and is 24-7 this season since then, with a chance to win 52 games if they make it. In both seasons, Doncic was the driving force behind the team's success. Sure, his teammates around him had to play well, but that's what any superstar needs, regardless of talent. (For proof, consider the disastrous 2022-23 season in which Dallas even missed the play-in tournament.) But this season, Doncic has been even better.
While players like Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were fortunate to play on relatively healthy teams, Doncic played with an incomplete roster despite frequent absences of key contributors. He has had to carry a team that has not only been better but also clearly different since his second loan contract. According to Basketball-index.com's database, Dallas is his ninth-most injury-impacted team in the league. Key members of the rotation, Irving, essential rookie center Derek Lively II, and the team's all-important sixth man Dante Exum, all missed significant time. That doesn't affect other contenders in the league, but it probably explains why Doncic's team is slightly behind the Nuggets and Thunder in the standings.
“We did it under crazy circumstances this season,” Irving said after Wednesday's win, the team's 50th win. “Injuries, trades, the uncertainty of what to do at defensive end, the expectations were high from the beginning of the season, both personally and from the basketball community.”
Whether Doncic is named the league's Most Valuable Player could be framed differently. So was he the NBA's best offensive player this season? Did he impact his team's scoring ability and create nightmarish decisions for his opponents more than any other player, even more than Jokic? He might be.
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It turns out that the most impactful offensive players in the league aren't the ones who score the most points. It's a pragmatic decision for Doncic, who records the league's third-most touches (91.8) and third-most minutes of possession (8.3 minutes) per game, and that's why his flashy Contributing to statistics. He chops up overpowering big guys with switches and hunts down weaker opponents of similar size because, frankly, they can't be bothered with him. But Doncic's talent is also shown through his work.Spectral statistics per second obtained by The Athletic, No player creates better shots for other players than Doncic. When teammates take shots from Doncic's passes, his expected shooting percentage (57.9 effective field goal percentage) based on tracking data is the best in the league.
This confirms game-viewing tests, where the watch measures Doncic's passes as he fires them around the court from angles that the glenoid must protest, and the eyes often aren't participating. It became. No one is better at scoring with the ball than Doncic. He stepped up during his injury absence to lead Dallas to victory. He contributed to some losses within that stretch as well, where his defensive buy-in wavered under underwhelming minute totals and nightly expectations. But all in all, this was Doncic's best defensive season, and the most notable response to the most prominent long-term bullshit in his game. Although it is incomplete, it is worthy of mention only in the context of the MVP award for which he was nominated, in celebration of his greatness.
Doncic scores more points and creates better shots with the ball in his hands than any player alive. He's performing better defensively than ever before, anchoring a supporting cast that leans more and more toward defensive proficiency over spot-on shooting strength. Dallas' front office made a calculated decision to put defenders around Doncic with limited offensive games. He no longer has to prioritize five-out spacing or corner snipers, knowing Doncic can lead the team to a top-five offense anyway. That's why Dallas has had the best defense in the league over the last 15 games. it is This value is about the best in the entire league.
This is not strictly a debate between Doncic and Jokic, as I believe these two players are most deserving of the MVP award. If so, you'll have to weigh the pluses and minuses, cite indicators of progress you've never heard of, and analyze the film. To discuss these two impossibly good players is to pit them against each other, which neither of them wants.
“I think the whole MVP debate is getting out of control,” Jokic said earlier this week. “I think several people deserve this award.”
One of the players he had in mind was almost certainly Doncic, who he said should win the award earlier this year after Dallas defeated Jokic's Nuggets.
This particular advantage cannot be quantified, even if Doncic doesn't hold up a silver basketball, hoist a gold trophy, and utter the usual press conference refrain about how focused he is on the playoff game at hand. But there's something going on here that's more important to the Mavericks' ultimate goals. That means Doncic is at this level. He arrived, not in a conversational sense, but ultimately in a way that allows Dallas to do what it does to compete and reach its ultimate goal of another NBA Finals. He's no longer the type of player to win MVP. He's that type of player now.
It's clear that it matters to Dallas whether he wins the award or not, as evidenced by those T-shirts, his postgame campaign speeches, and how his teammates felt he energized the team. . But even if he doesn't win, it makes no difference to what this team is trying to accomplish.he is one of them Them Current players. He may have to wait another year to solidify his spot, but his impact on the franchise can no longer be ignored. largely. Doncic is as valuable to this team as any other player is to any other team. And that value is more important to this series than the value of Doncic's personal hunk of metal, more than what he accomplished.
That's why officials with this franchise have chosen to discuss his case while he doesn't care. Because while that validation will come at some point, its importance and urgency for Doncic is yet to come.
(Luka Doncic photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
