How Does Luka Doncic Stack Up Against Other MVP Favorites?

As per NBA.com’s Kia MVP ladder, there are 10 players in the league right now deserving of lifting up the coveted trophy by the end of the season. Amongst them are some household names, such as Nikola Jokic snagging the number 1 spot, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander holding down number 2, and Jaylen Brown at number 5, all of whom are star players having amazing seasons. Young, up and coming players on the list include Cade Cunningham, who has had a phenomenal season thus far (number 4), Austin Reaves really stepping up to his spot of being the second best scorer on the 2025-26 Lakers (number 7), and Tyrese Maxey leading the charge for the Philadelphia 76ers (number 8).

However, missing among these names is a certain player; One who has powered the Lakers alongside Reaves to their comfortable 3rd seed position in the Western Conference, and recorded a 45-point triple double in the team’s win over the Utah Jazz.

How Does Luka Doncic Stack Up Against Other MVP Favorites?

The elusive MVP trophy

Over the course of his NBA career, Luka Doncic has consistently been able to score the basketball, despite what critics might have to say about certain aspects of his game. A perennial All-Star, with five All-NBA first team appearances, Doncic has yet to add MVP to his resume.

In his second season, Doncic finished 4th in MVP voting, making him one of the youngest NBA players to ever do so. However, despite great seasons in the following years, Doncic dipped to 6th place during the 2020-21 season, inched back to 5th in 2021-22, fell down to 8th in 2022-23, rose to 3rd in 2023-24, and was absent from the list altogether during 2024-25 season. He played just 50 games then, missing the minimum of 65 games to qualify for any in-season awards.

Indeed, making a bid for the MVP trophy is a difficult mountain to scale, particularly in today’s NBA terrain. Doncic will be clashing head-to-head with fellow European basketball savant Jokic, who is averaging a triple double for the season as of now (29 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists). Jokic’s assists and passing ability is just one of the dimensions that makes the Serbian big-man’s game deadly, allowing him to set teammates up for good looks, even when not playing his best. Jokic is more than capable of doing what it takes offensively to help the Nuggets (currently the 2nd seed) make a strong case to win the Western Conference, and potentially, a second championship.

Right behind Jokic is the reigning regular season and Finals MVP, his team holding an impressive 25-2 record, nearly rivaling the start of the 73-9 Warriors. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been on the rise over the past two seasons, but what cements him as one of the future faces of the league was his victory of the MVP race last season, with a dominant 32 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. His numbers for this ongoing season, over 26 games thus far, remain practically unchanged. Gilgeous-Alexander has an aptitude to draw fouls, shooting over eight shots at the free throw line this season. This is a skill that many fans are not pleased about, dubbing his style of play “unethical” basketball.

How does Doncic compare?

Doncic is currently third on the MVP ladder, right behind Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander. Being the NBA’s leading scorer, averaging 35 points a night so far, Doncic also averages the third most assists in the NBA. His near triple-double numbers have been a huge part of the Lakers and their success.

There is only one discernable reason pointing towards why he is not higher on the list, that being his shooting. Presently, Doncic is shooting 32% from the three-point line, which is in line with his career averages. Although three three-point attempts per game is close to what an average NBA player takes, his three-point percentage is below league average, which hovers around 36%. While this can be chalked up to the fact that Luka has a league high usage rate of 37.8%, here is what NBA.com has to say about Doncic’s infinitesimal shortcomings: