One of the more intriguing races in the NBA this season is going to be for the MVP award. There are a lot of worthy candidates, as several players can make a strong claim to taking home the hardware this season.
Different players around the NBA are exploding onto the national scene for the first time, such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks. Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, who have been the best team in the league all season, will draw some consideration as well.
Two of the favorites in many people’s eyes faced off on Sunday when the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks took the court. It was two-time MVP Nikola Jokic going up against perennial MVP contender, Luka Doncic.
Doncic and the Mavericks came away victorious, winning 107-105 courtesy of a Kyrie Irving left-handed buzzer-beater. The MVP hopeful was excellent in the game as well, scoring 37 points with 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals.
After the game, Jokic was very complimentary of his opponent. He praised Doncic and said that he is the one who deserves the MVP award for the 2023-24 NBA regular season. “I think he deserves the MVP, 100 percent,” Jokic said of Doncic. “But it’s not my decision, to be honest.”
Doncic has finished in the top eight of the MVP voting for four straight seasons. The closest he has ever gotten was during the 2019-20 season when he finished fourth. If the Mavericks can make a late-season run up the standings, he could finish even higher this time around.
On the season, Doncic is averaging an NBA-high 34.1 points, 9.8 assists and 9.0 rebounds while playing 37.5 minutes per game. He is having the best shooting season of his career, connecting on 37.6 percent of his 3-point attempts and 78.8 percent of his foul shots; both would be career-best numbers.
Alas, team success does factor into the decision. If Doncic wants to be a serious contender for the MVP award during the 2023-24 campaign, the Mavericks need to get out of the NBA Play-In Tournament. Finishing with a top-six seed would only strengthen his case for the award.
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