NBA MVP: Making the case for dark horse candidate Luka Doncic

This year’s NBA MVP race is deep, but Luka Doncic should not get overlooked.

Luka Doncic‘s season started off slow, but the Dallas Mavericks All-Star has slowly entered into the 2022 NBA MVP race. The NBA is littered with fantastic talent, and this year, three outstanding players are leading the charge for this season’s MVP between Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, and Nikola Jokic.

Despite those three being the apparent frontrunners, we should still be open to recognize players who have MVP-type seasons, breaking into the top three.

The argument for Doncic being in the MVP race is simple. This season, he is scoring at a high level and creating for others on a team that often needs him to win. Doncic has averaged 28 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 8.7 assists this season. His shooting percentages have been down this season, shooting 45 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3, with a true shooting percentage of 56 percent.

However, someone could be deceived by his overall number because they do not represent the whole season he is having now. At the start of the season, Luku Doncic started the season out of shape, dealing with injuries and illness. His stats reflected that. Through the first 40 games of the seasons, Doncic played in just 25 games, averaging 24.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and nine assists, while shooting 44 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3.

In the 25 games since then, Doncic has stayed on the healthy, played himself into shape, and has quickly turned his season around. Since January 12, he has averaged 31.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 8.3 assists, on 46 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent shooting from 3. The most significant improvement was his efficiency from 3 that has changed the second half of his season.

Doncic has been doing everything for the Dallas Mavericks, from scoring to creating from others, as the offense’s focal point. His usage of 37.3 is the highest in the NBA right after also leading the NBA last season. He has also made an added effort on defense, with a 105 defensive rating, the lowest of his career.

The Mavericks are also making a late-season push up the Western Conference standings. They sit in fifth place now, with a 41-26 second and one game back from the Utah Jazz for the fourth seed. They are also one of the hottest teams in the NBA, going 8-2 in their last 10 games.

Does this mean that Doncic should be a top 3 candidate to win the MVP award? That would be a tough sell as Giannis, Embiid, and Jokic are having historic seasons of their own. However, at the same time, Luka’s season shouldn’t go unnoticed.

It’s unfortunate that Luka couldn’t be playing at this level from the beginning of the season. If Doncic had played the whole season like he has the previous 25 games, maybe, just maybe, the race for NBA MVP would be a four-player contest.