Luka Dončić is one of the best basketball players in the world, and if he successfully wins his eligibility appeal, he should receive (third, fourth, or fifth) place votes for NBA MVP. As a Los Angeles Lakers fan, you'd probably give him your first-place vote if you had one, but based on a poll conducted by Stephen Noh of the Sporting News about who the best player in the league is, it doesn't look like Luka will receive any, if he is eligible.
The best player in the league doesn't equate to MVP, not in this case. Noh wrote that the label is "irrespective of team success or games played," so you'd think Luka would've gotten at least a couple of the 53 votes, but nope.
He received none, and Noll said he polled "several people" in the LA market. No one even mentioned Luka as a player they were thinking about.
Nikola Jokić received 53 votes (66%), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 10 (18.9%), and Victor Wembanyama got eight (15.1%).
Luka Dončić snub is actually a good thing for Lakers
Dončić doesn't need to look at poll results to know who he is, but the more fuel, the better, especially since it's (almost) playoff time. Los Angeles hopes that Luka will be able to return to the floor after suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain at the beginning of the month. Nothing is certain yet, but his soon-to-be return from Europe, where he was undergoing treatment, is a good sign.
It helps, too, that the Lakers drew the Rockets in the first round. Dončić could very well return sometime during that series, but if he needs more time, LA could do him a favor by taking care of business and advancing to the second round.
Before the Lakers lost Dončić and Austin Reaves to injuries, they genuinely looked like a team that could reach the conference finals, if not further. Luka elevated himself into the MVP conversation with his play since the start of the calendar year, averaging 33.5 points and 8.0 assists per game. He was riding a wave of momentum entering the postseason, making his injury sting that much more.
We have already seen who Luka can be in the playoffs, but there are still new heights for him to reach, as he's only 27. That may or may not happen this year. Hamstring injuries are tricky, but it seems like he's trending in the right direction. It's hard not to get your hopes up a little.
Dončić might be able to make a comeback and remind everyone that he's one of the best players in the league, if not the best. You can't argue that Jokić, SGA, and Wembanyama aren't at the top of that list, but Luka not being part of that group is laughable.
Now, let's see if he can get the last laugh, one way or another.
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