Dallas Mavericks: Luka Doncic wins Rookie of the Month for January

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic grabbed Rookie of the Month honors for January. That marks three straight wins as Doncic chases an elite club.

The Dallas Mavericks hit the jackpot in the 2018 NBA Draft. They trade up for the rights to Luka Doncic in the lottery. The 19-year-old has played at a historic pace so far and only continues to improve. Then, the Mavs drafted Jalen Brunson in the second round. He figures to be a fixture in their rotation for the next decade.

Adding Brunson in round two was the cherry on top of the sundae, though. Luka has been so good that almost nothing surprises Mavericks fans anymore. He is averaging 20.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game as a teenager. The Slovenian has been sensational.

Luka Doncic recently won his third straight Western Conference Rookie of the Month award. Here is a video of the presentation courtesy of the Mavs official Twitter account.

The Rookie of the Month award is given six times during an NBA season. Luka is three for three so far, but how close is he to joining some elite company?

Rookie of the Month facts

Rookie of the Month awards began in 1981. That gives us nearly 40 years of data to look at when determining the rarity Luka’s accomplishments. Doncic became the 20th rookie to win three straight months. It is worth noting the award changed slightly in 2001 when it went from one rookie to one rookie in each conference receiving the award.

Luka Doncic also became the 16th player to ever win the award for the first three months of the season.

Doncic is on pace to win all six months, though. Let us take a look at some facts around that feat.

Sweeping the award

Ralph Simpson swept the award in the 1983-1984 season, but there was only five given that year.

David Robinson became the first player ever to win all six Rookie of the Month awards in 1989-1990. He and future teammate Tim Duncan are the only two players to win all six prior to the change in the award in 2001.

Since 2001, only LeBron James has swept the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards. Five players have done it in the Western Conference. They are Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

That means if Luka Doncic can win it all six months this season, he becomes the ninth player to ever accomplish that feat.

Winning the Rookie of the Month in February becomes the key to the chase for the sweep. Only two players have ever won the first four and not swept the award for the year. Shaquille O’Neal in 1992-1993 and Andrew Wiggins in 2014-2015 both won November to February but lost it in March.

Here is to hoping Luka Doncic gets back on the court and continues to shine. Luka winning all six Rookie of the Month awards would be a nice feather in his cap heading into his sophomore campaign. Expect Doncic to take the leap into becoming an All-Star next season. That should push the Dallas Mavericks towards contention, so stay tuned fans.