Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers
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Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers
Back-to-back nights of scoring outbursts have seen Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic climb up the MVP ladder as the regular season comes to its final dozen games.
After going for 40 points against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, the Slovenian star followed it up 24 hours later with 60 points against the Miami Heat. That scoring barrage has catapulted him to No. 2 on thelatest Kia NBA MVP Ladder as he jumped two spots.
Doncic capped a two-week stretch that has seen the Lakers win eight consecutive games, their best stretch of the season, and eyeing a top-three finish in the Western Conference. The latest was in a 134-126 road win at Miami that pushed the Lakers to 45-25, with Doncic finishing with 60 points going 18-for-30 from the field at a solid 60%. He went 9-for-17 from 3-point range, 15-for-19 at the free-throw line and added seven rebounds, three assists and five steals in 38 minutes in his season-high night.
This was the first 60-piece by a Laker since Kobe Bryant’s final game in 2016, and it has certainly dragged the attention of MVP voters.
Luka Doncic’s Historic 60-Point Night Caps Off an Incredible Run
Doncic is averaging 40.8 points in the last eight games, which have included four games over 40 points and two over 50. In a span of 76 minutes across back-to-backs, he had 100 points, and the 27-year-old has been a huge factor in why the Lakers moved from direct playoff spot uncertainty to displacing Houston at the No. 3 seed. L.A. has now won 11 of its last 12 games.
Doncic’s night in Miami is the highest scoring output of his Lakers tenure and tied for the second-highest single-game total of his entire career. He is averaging a league-leading 33.4 points, which is only 0.5 points less than his career high.
For Lakers fans, the timing could not be better, as a top-four seed would mean home-court advantage in the first playoff round, something Doncic’s scoring explosions could help secure.
The Tight NBA MVP Race Heats Up
For most of the season, it has been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Brown maintaining a grip between the top two spots before the last season’s MVP took control at No. 1. But in the past weeks leading up to the final weeks of the season, the MVP ladder has shaped up to be one of the most competitive races in recent years.
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama drops to No. 3 below Doncic, while Jokic is at No. 4. Gilgeous-Alexander still maintains a grip at the leading spot after helping the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 10-game winning streak since his return from a minor injury. He is averaging close to 30 points per game in that span and is clearly the player to beat for the MVP award.
As things stand, the Canadian superstar is a clear frontrunner to win a consecutive MVP award, but Doncic has shown that momentum can quickly shift.
Earlier this season, he was rarely in the talk for being MVP despite leading the league in scoring and, before March, he sat far behind in sixth and didn’t look close to breaking into the top five. But he is now in the top two.
The final weeks will ultimately decide who will take home the Michael Jordan Trophy, but Doncic is in a considerable position as of right now.