Jason Burgos
Despite having one of the best seasons of his impressive career, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic isn’t getting serious MVP consideration this year. His coach offered a reason why: saying the quiet part out loud.
On Thursday night, Doncic once again showed why he is a truly special talent on the offensive side of the ball. In the Lakers’ 134-126 win over the Miami Heat, the six-time All-Star scored 60 points. It is the second time he’s scored 60 — but is well short of the 73 he posted in a game against the Atlanta Hawks two years ago.
His latest offensive outburst comes a day after scoring 40 in a win over the Houston Rockets, and a week after a 51-point night in a victory versus the Chicago Bulls. Yet, these aren’t the results of a hot couple of weeks of play. Doncic has been the NBA’s best player on offense all year.
Doncic currently leads the NBA in points per game (33.4) due to being on the floor for a league-leading 35.8 minutes a night. The 27-year-old is also second in made threes (4.0) and free throws (7.9) and is third in assists (8.9). There is no better player on offense in the NBA, and with the Lakers sitting in the third spot of the Western Conference, Doncic seems deserving of MVP consideration.
However, as we hit the last couple of weeks of the regular season, the Slovenian does not seem to be in conversations for the award alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaylen Brown, Victor Wembanyama, and Cade Cunningham.
Is Luka Doncic’s reputation for complaining killing his MVP chances?
Lakers head coach JJ Redick on why Luka Doncic is not more prominently featured in MVP discussions: “Because he complains to the refs, I don’t know”
by u/oat38 in nba
Following Doncic’s 60-point night, Lakers head coach JJ Redick was asked by a reporter why his top star doesn’t seem to be in the NBA MVP discourse. He had a simple response that was saying the quiet part out loud. “Because he complains to the refs? I don’t know,” Reddick said.
Redick’s bewilderment is understandable, but Luka Doncic’s nightly arguing with referees does seem to be at an annoying high point and has been the subject of conversation during the season. Furthermore, he has been the focus of several viral videos this season about his utter lack of effort on defense.
Nevertheless, is his complaining and defensive effort still enough not to get NBA MVP consideration with the sort of numbers he is posting on offense? It will be interesting to see how the final votes look in a month.
