Oct 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) fight for the ball during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images
Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic had a remarkable 2025-26 campaign. He won the scoring title, averaging 33.5 points per game. He added 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists a night and led the Lakers to a 53-win season and the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. He earned All-NBA First Team honors for the sixth time in his career.
However, he finished fourth in MVP voting, representing the fourth time he’s finished in the top five of voting despite never winning the award or even finishing second. It has become something of a trend in Doncic’s career, where his seasons are good enough to be named one of the five best players in the world, but not good enough to earn the league’s most prestigious individual award. Golden State Warriors big man Draymond Green believes it’s going to stay that way and explained why, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic:
“Nah, I don’t think there’s anything that he can do (to win it),” Green told The Athletic while shaking his head at his locker. “And by the way, it’s not a knock on him. I don’t think there is anything that he can do. If they’re the 1, 2, 3 seed — great. It’s still Luka Doncic. No one is going to be surprised that Luka Doncic’s team is the 4 seed. Nobody. He’s that good. There’s no element of surprise if his team is the fourth seed.
“I just think, ultimately, he gets screwed because of it. And it’s probably a little unfair. Anybody else puts those numbers up, and they’re walking away with the MVP. Like, home free. That’s why I made the comparison to Bron. He’s got, what, four MVPs? You’re telling me he wasn’t the best player in the NBA for at least 10 seasons? It’s greatness fatigue.”
In a way, this is a compliment from Green. He recognizes that Doncic has the talent and ability to win MVP, but that the narrative will simply never be on his side. Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Victor Wembanyama are virtually always going to finish ahead of him, despite Doncic’s talent level being right up there with all three.
It’s something that Lakers fans are used to, as L.A. has been vastly under-represented in end-of-season awards for generations. The pairing of the Lakers and Doncic will only continue that trend, as Green predicts.
Luka Doncic building connection with Lakers fans
Doncic’s first season as the clear face of the Lakers franchise got off to an incredible start on and off the court this week. On the court, they won in dominant fashion in their season opener against the Golden State Warriors.
Off the court, Doncic made a pre-game speech, offered free parking to fans attending the game and free bike rides in downtown L.A. ahead of the evening.