Mavericks: Luka Doncic favored as next to win first MVP in ESPN vote

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic most likely to be next to win first MVP

Dallas Mavericks fans are excited for the conclusion of the 2019-2020 season. Everyone will get to see what Luka Doncic can do in the playoffs. The 21-year-old has a chance to cement himself as a top-five player when play resumes in Orlando later this summer.

It has been an incredible rise by Doncic. Looking back, supporters should not be surprised. He was EuroLeague MVP as an 18-year-old. Luka came to the NBA and ran away with the Rookie of the Year award. Few expected him to be the MVP conversation this season, though.

ESPN had their panel of experts vote for the NBA’s season-ending awards as it stands right now. Let us look at the results and take a peek at a companion piece they ran.

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic received votes in MVP and MIP

Doncic finished fourth in ESPN’s MVP race. Giannis Antetokounmpo won going away. Perhaps the most interesting part for Mavericks fans was Luka received three percent of the vote for who will win the award. Giannis and LeBron James were the only other two players that earned nods.

To see our rundown of the MVP race at the time play was suspended click here.

Doncic finished third in the Most Improved Player poll receiving 12 percent of the first-place votes.

No player took a more impressive leap than Luka this season. Bam Adebayo went from backup center to All-Star but did not become a superstar. Doncic did. That is the toughest jump to make and should earn him Most Improved Player this season.

Luka Doncic favored in next to win first MVP

To go along with the voting, ESPN released a piece asking five of their experts five questions about the awards. One of the topics was which player wins the MVP for the first time next? Every expert mentioned Doncic with four of the five making him their choice.

That category obviously excludes Giannis, LeBron, Kevin Durant, and James Harden as they have already captured MVP honors.

It may take a few seasons, but Doncic is clearly the NBA’s star of now and the future. It would not be surprising to see him win multiple MVP awards in his prime. Luka already has the Mavericks with the best offensive rating in NBA history. It is only going to get better from here.