There seems to be a growing number of people who are picking Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic to win the MVP for this coming NBA season. It is no wonder, as he has gotten into fantastic shape and was already putting up stellar numbers for multiple seasons despite being fat and out of shape.
After being traded to the Lakers in February, he averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists a game while hitting 43.8% of his field-goal attempts and 37.9% from 3-point range. At EuroBasket 2025 a few weeks ago, he put up 34.7 points a game and seemed to have more speed, quickness and overall mobility than he previously possessed.
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ESPN recently polled 20 coaches, scouts and executives across the league on a number of topics. When they were asked who would take home the MVP award, Doncic came in third with four votes. Overall, the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic got the most votes, followed by reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“He’s in shape,” an East executive said of Doncic, “and will be motivated.”
There already seems to be a narrative brewing that the 2025-26 campaign will be a revenge season for the Slovenian, especially after the Dallas Mavericks, his previous team, took shots at him for not taking proper care of his body following February’s trade.
He has made it clear that he wants to win at least one NBA championship with the Lakers. He has already proven he can elevate his team beyond the sum of its parts when it matters most, and perhaps he will enable L.A. to overachieve in the coming months.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Luka Doncic got some MVP love in recent ESPN NBA poll