NBA MVP Power Rankings: Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid battling for early-season dominance

2. Luka Doncic

It may be a bit controversial to place Luka Doncic ahead of Nikola Jokic in the NBA MVP race right now, but I think a bit part of this race comes down to expectations. Jokic is the best player in the NBA. That was pretty much settled when he dominated his way to an NBA Championship last season. Heading into this season, you can make the argument that Luka’s overall stock was heading in the wrong direction. However, with the excellent start he’s had to this season, that has now completely changed.

After an extremely disappointing end to last season, the Dallas Mavericks entered this season with a chip on their shoulder. Luka is almost the perfect superstar to lead the charge in that circumstance. And that’s what we’ve seen so far this season. Luka is averaging 31 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists on 50 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent shooting from 3-point range.

If he continues to play at this rate and the Mavs continue to have team success, Luka is going to finish in the top 2 of NBA MVP voting. At that point, it’s a coin flip.