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dave mcmenamin
multiple authors
LOS ANGELES–Coach JJ Redick says if luka doncic and this Los Angeles Lakers Finishing off as hot a regular season as he has 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 the way he did — to me, he’s the MVP,” Redick said Monday before hosting the Lakers. washington wizards.
Redick pointed to Doncic’s play early in 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 and leading L.A. to a 14-2 record since February 28 – to support his case.
“I think when we started 15-4, you could argue he was the MVP then,” Redick said. “Well, he’s been MVP for two out of three stretches of the season.”
Redick also pointed to the Lakers’ 24-10 record in Wizards games since Jan. 18 — the second-most wins in the NBA over that span as they moved up to No. 3 in the Western Conference — as further evidence of Doncic’s impact.
“He’s the engine that’s driving our wins,” Redick said. “Sure, we have a lot of people acting in their roles, but that’s the driver.”
Redick also talked about Doncic’s dedication to his body as the season went on. “His fitness form right now is probably as good as it was when he was a first- or second-year player,” Redick said.
Doncic, 27, has yet to win an MVP award despite being in the mix for most of his career.
He finished third in 2023-24 (Nikola Jokic of denver nuggets won it); He finished eighth in 2022-23 (joel embiid of philadelphia 76ers won it); He finished fifth in 2021–22 (Jokic won it); He finished sixth in 2020–21 (Jokic won it that year as well); And in 2019-20 he stood fourth (giannis antetokounmpo of milwaukee bucks won it).
When Doncic, who was suspended for Monday’s game after his 16th technical foul in Saturday’s 116-99 win Brooklyn NetsWhen asked about his MVP case after the Nets game, he expressed surprise at how he didn’t get more attention.
“The better I play, the lower I go in the rankings,” Doncic said, translating one of his answers from Spanish. “So, I don’t know what else I can do.”
And when asked about his case after scoring 60 points against him at the beginning of the month Miami HeatHe avoided campaigning for the award.
“It’s you guys, the media [that vote],” Doncic said. “I have nothing to do with it.”
Instead, he has mostly let his game do the talking. He leads the NBA with a career-best 33.7 points per game; He ranks first in the NBA in both 40-plus point games (15) and 30-plus point games (43); And he ranks third in the league with 8.2 assists per game.
And although he has not had a reputation as a defensive stopper throughout his career, he is third among all guards in rebounds with 7.8 per game; He ranks sixth in the NBA in steals with 1.6 per game; And with a total of 14 relegations he is seventh in the league.
