6. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic is everything you want in a superstar. He's 25 years old and right in the middle of the prime years of his career. He comes up big when it matters most and in his last two playoff appearances, he's helped lead his team to the Western Conference Finals twice and the NBA Finals once. He's constantly in the conversation for best player in the league and there's an argument to be made that his best basketball is still very much in front of him. So as the Dallas Mavericks begin to play better and look more like a contender, it's hard to ignore his candidacy as an NBA MVP.
Even though he isn't having the statistical season that he had a year ago, Luka is still posting NBA MVP quality numbers - averaging 29 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists on 45 percent shooting from the field and 34 percent shooting from 3-point range. The addition of Klay Thompson has had a slight impact on his overall production, as the expectation was when the season started. Still, Luka is very much in the mix to win the NBA MVP award.
Why Luka's MVP bid may fall short
If there's any concern for Luka when it comes to his chances of winning the NBA's MVP award, they likely fall in two buckets. Either there's fear that Luka could suffer another injury that would cost him more meaningful time or the Mavs falter down the stretch and aren't considered one of the best teams in the Western Conference by the end of the year. Both could end up tanking his chances of winning the award this season.
Luka has already missed six games this season. Right now, he's on pace to miss more than the allowed 17 games before being disqualified from the individual regular season awards. It has to be a concern for his chances of winning the MVP. But, to his credit, Luka has managed to play at least 65 regular season games in six of the first seven years of his career. He may be fine on that front. Dallas is playing good basketball right now and perhaps that will only get better as they get more and more comfortable with each other. But, if the Mavs do finish as the 4th or 5th seed, it's hard to imagine Luka getting much love for the NBA MVP award.