Dave McMenamin
Multiple Authors
LOS ANGELES — Coach JJ Redick says that if Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers close out the regular season as hot as they’ve been, Doncic should be named the NBA’s MVP.
“If we continue to finish the season the way we’re playing right now, and he continues to play that way — to me, he is the MVP,” Redick said Monday before the Lakers hosted the Washington Wizards.
Redick pointed to Doncic’s play to begin the season and his recent dominance — averaging 36.5 points on 49.3% shooting (39% from 3) with 8.1 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.3 steals in leading L.A. to a 14-2 record since Feb. 28 — to support his case.
“I think when we started 15-4, you could have made an argument that he was the MVP then,” Redick said. “Well, he’s been the MVP for two of the three segments of the season.”
Redick also pointed out the Lakers’ record since Jan. 18 — 24-10 coming into the Wizards game, accounting for the second-most wins in the NBA in that span as they have shot up to No. 3 in the Western Conference — as further proof of Doncic’s impact.
“He’s the engine that’s driving all of our winning,” Redick said. “Certainly, we have a ton of guys starring in their roles, but he’s the driver.”
Redick also spoke about Doncic’s dedication to his body as the season has gone on. “His form of fitness right now is probably as good as it’s been since he was a first- or second-year player,” Redick said.
Doncic, 27, has yet to win the MVP award despite being in the mix for the majority of his career.
In 2023-24 he finished third (Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets won it); in 2022-23 he finished eighth (Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers won it); in 2021-22 he finished fifth (Jokic won it); in 2020-21 he finished sixth (Jokic won it that year, too); and in 2019-20 he finished fourth (Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks won it).
When Doncic, who was suspended for Monday’s game after picking up his 16th technical foul in Saturday’s 116-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets, was asked about his MVP case after the Nets game, he expressed bewilderment about how he hasn’t received more consideration.
“The better I play, the more I go down in rankings,” Doncic said, translating one of his answers from Spanish. “So, I don’t know what more I can do.”
And when asked about his case earlier in the month, after scoring 60 points against the Miami Heat, he refrained from campaigning for the award.
“It’s you guys, the media [that vote],” Doncic said. “I ain’t got nothing to do with it.”
Instead, he has mostly let his game do the talking. He leads the NBA in scoring with a career-best 33.7 points per game; he is first in the NBA in both 40-plus point games (15) and 30-plus point games (43); and he is third in the league in assists with 8.2 per game.
And though he has not had the reputation as a defensive stopper throughout his career, he is third among all guards in rebounds with 7.8 per game; he is sixth in the NBA in steals with 1.6 per game; and he is seventh in the league in total charges drawn with 14.
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