Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic is the Western Conference player of the month for March, averaging 37.5 points, 8 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 2.3 steals.
Doncic is shooting 49.2% overall, 39.2% on 3-pointers, proving to be quite an efficient scorer, with his free-throw creation.
He helped propel the Lakers to a 14-2 record in March while he played, including a nine-game winning streak. He scored at least 30 points in 13 straight games, including two 50-point games and a 60-point game.
The Slovenian had a total of 600 points in the month, making him one of a few to reach the figure. He took the award after Victor Wembanyama won it for February.
Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) smiles after a dunk in the final minutes of the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Doncic and the Lakers have a great test coming in April, with games against the Oklahoma City Thunder that could help swing the MVP race toward the Lakers’ star over the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
While winning the MVP would be some kind of vindication for Doncic, who faced a ton of heat from the Dallas Mavericks when he got dealt, he is not explicitly campaigning for it.
“I’m not the one voting, so, you know, but I think I’ve been playing pretty good. We’ve been winning. So that’s it. That’s all I gotta say,” Doncic said.
He does not need to win the award for Laker fans to believe in him as the future of the franchise; he was already treated as such, but it would go a long way to further establishing the trade as one of the best deals of all time.