The MVP race will see a lot of names hoping to make a mark, including Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic. Despite being a top five player for many years now, the NBA voters have never voted for Doncic to win an MVP Award. Golden State Warriors legend Draymond Green chimed in before the season and predicted Luka would never win the award in his NBA career.
One dominant week to start the season shows Doncic as a strong MVP contender. However, Green doubled down and shared why he feels this way:
“Luka drops his first 50-ball of the season, and you ask yourself the question, is he on a mission? An MVP mission this season. And I think yes. For sure. That’s his mindset, and he’s made that very clear. Now, this is his first year without LeBron James; he put out a letter to the fans and all that. And he’s come out and played that way. But I still don’t think he’s going to win MVP.
The moment he has a few bad games or, you know, an injury that costs him a couple games, people are going to flip back on him. ‘Oh, the same Luka.’ Right? And that’s just my opinion. I think people get bored with greatness. I think Luka’s been doing great things for a very long time now. And I think they’re going to stay bored with him.”
Green went in depth claiming the media holds things against Doncic more than other players. Draymond expects Luka to get slandered once he has a bad stretch to fall behind the “popular” media choices like Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nikola Jokic.
Draymond Claims Luka Doncic Problem A Bigger Issue
The overall point raised by Green is that the NBA media cares too much about narratives and voters’ fatigue. Draymond thinks that Luka will suffer from voters’ fatigue, despite never winning MVP with neither the Lakers nor the Dallas Mavericks.
Doncic has been a top player for so long that his flaws become part of the story following his name and award chases. Green felt that teammate Stephen Curry was never an MVP contender for a third season for the same reasons.
However, it is rare when voters’ fatigue impacts a player yet to win the award. Regardless, Green thinks the voters will punish Luka and prevent him from winning any MVP Award during his Lakers tenure.
Current MVP Odds Show Luka In Mix
Betting odds currently see Doncic as the third betting favorite behind Wembanyama and Gilgeous-Alexander. The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are expected to have better records than the Lakers to explain that.
Current MVP betting odds, as per Fox Sports:
Wembanyama: +220
Gilgeous-Alexander: +350
Doncic: +450
Jokic: +700
Anthony Edwards: +1000
Jayson Tatum: +1200
The hot start for Doncic sees him with a third-place placement in the odds, with Edwards and Tatum right behind him. One thing favoring Luka is he has a chance to lead the league in scoring with Austin Reaves as his only All-Star caliber teammate. Doncic’s best bet is to dominate the stats and lead his team to an overachieving season to build an MVP case.
Draymond Green Doubles Down On Bold Luka Doncic Take