2025-26 was one of the best seasons of Luka Doncic's NBA career. Despite that, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar finished fourth in the MVP race behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (winner), Nikola Jokic, and Victor Wembanyama. That might be as good of a sign as any he may never win the award.
Granted, it would be disingenuous to not mention Doncic's late-season injury as detrimental to his MVP case. Luka's Grade 2 hamstring strain cost him the opportunity for one last push in the regular season. It almost kept him off the ballot altogether until a voting exception was given by the NBA.
Doncic ended up eligible for end-of-season awards and secured his deserved spot on the All-NBA First Team as a result. That is where the peak of his accolades for this season would end.
With Doncic's greatness being so normalized, and new faces entering the mix, there is one disappointing reality that is coming fast for the Slovenian superstar. His best opportunity to win the NBA MVP may already be behind him.
Luka Doncic was too good, too fast in his young career
In just his second season in the NBA, Doncic was an All-NBA First Team selection, and finished fourth on the MVP ballot. That set the bar extremely high for what was expected of the dynamic offensive maestro.
For his part, Doncic has shown very little let-up. The former Dallas Mavericks guard continued to assert himself as a perennial All-NBA First Teamer, but the breakthrough in the MVP category never came. The closest Luka got to the award was in the 2023-24 campaign.
Doncic delivered one of the most ridiculous individual seasons in NBA history. The former Mav averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game for a 50-win team in Dallas.
It was the highest cumulative average (52.9) of points, rebounds, and assists per game in a season since the NBA-ABA merger. That was good enough to get him third place on the ballot.
There has certainly been a numbing to the kind of ridiculous offensive production that Doncic provides. Lakers fans will not have to look further than March of this past season for evidence of that. Luka was dropping 60-bombs and somehow moving down the MVP ladder, because he would not properly plead his case to the media.
“I never did that so… I’m not the one voting but I think I’ve been playing pretty good. We been winning. That’s it. That’s all I gotta say”
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) April 1, 2026
- Reporter tells Luka that Wemby stated his case as to why he should win MVP and asked him what would be his points pic.twitter.com/e5zw7LLrre
This season was a mind-boggling case of voter fatigue without actually having crowned the player in question at any point. The injury probably would have cost Doncic in the long run, but the fact he was not neck and neck for the top spot was an absurdity given his stellar campaign.
Victor Wembanyama is ready to keep Luka Doncic away from NBA MVP
Combine the normalization of Doncic's greatness with the rise of Wembanyama and the perfect formula for Luka continuing to get denied of the NBA MVP is right there. In all fairness, Wemby is an incredible player.
Wembanyama had his San Antonio Spurs ahead of schedule this season as they competed for an NBA championship. That should take him up another notch higher from the media darling he already is.
People love something fresh and new. Plus, in Wembanyama's case, the Spurs center will be making a push to be the face of the league. Many would argue that distinction already does belong to him.
It is hard to validate that type of coronation without adding hardware to justify it. Wembanyama already has a Defensive Player of the Year under his belt. MVP is undoubtedly the next accolade that should be headed in his direction.
It is not like Wemby would be an undeserving recipient when that does happen. However, the narrative is already so tilted in his favor that ripping said award from him will take nothing short of a herculean effort.
Doncic's 2025-26 campaign showed when he does bring that type of heavy lifting, it goes underappreciated. The Lakers were projected by many to be a Play-In Team before this past season. When they overachieved, Luka did not get the love that was owed for that success.
If that serves as any indicator of what is to come, betting on Doncic to win an MVP might as well be throwing away money at this current stage.
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