The closest Luka Doncic has ever come to an NBA MVP was 2023-24. The former Dallas Mavericks superstar was halted in his tracks by Nikola Jokic. 2025-26 is threatening to have history repeat itself for the man who is now the cornerstone of a strong Los Angeles Lakers unit.
This is not about what Doncic can do. Everyone knows who Luka is. The statistics will always be elite. The team results have been what they have needed to be for the Lakers superstar. The problem is not him, or anything that is going into his MVP case.
The problem is Jokic continues to raise the bar for what is needed to challenge for basketball's top individual award. 2025-26 is somehow shaping up to be the most ridiculous season yet for the Denver Nuggets superstar.
Nikola Jokic is leaving everyone else fighting for MVP runner-up
Doncic is due, right? Surely, a generational superstar cannot be denied for so long. In this case, it is another era-defining talent leaving very little wiggle room for his competition.
The narrative is on Doncic's side. The voter fatigue may help him out as well. It is just so difficult to look at what Jokic is doing in Denver and talk oneself into anyone else keeping pace with that type of production.
Last season's triple-double average was a historic feat that was never done before at the center position. This season, it is the standard for the man who is rapidly ascending the all-time ranks.
Jokic has averaged 29.6 points, 12.8 rebounds, 11.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. His shooting splits of 63-44-85 are downright ridiculous. That equates to a true shooting percentage of 72.9, leading the NBA.
As is tradition with Jokic, the advanced numbers absolutely love him. The Nuggets center is also first in player efficiency rating (36.7), win shares (5.1), win shares per-48 (.412), box plus/minus (18.2), and value over replacement player (3.0). The gaps in many of those categories are not particularly close either.
So, how is beating Jokic in the MVP race possible?
Joel Embiid did it in 2022-23. That one was largely blamed on voter fatigue. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did it last year. That familiar element above can be blamed here, to some capacity, as well. However, a dominant campaign from the Oklahoma City Thunder, in terms of team success, played a big part too.
When the voters went away from Jokic for Embiid's crowning, they turned right back to him in the following season. If his current level of dominance is sustainable for the entire campaign, it would be hard to imagine that not being the case in 2025-26.