Grading every Dallas Mavericks player ahead of 2024 NBA Playoffs

1. Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic has been playing the best basketball of his career this season, and he seemingly gets better and better every time he takes the floor. Doncic has broken countless records, dropped 73 points in a game, and helped lead the Dallas Mavericks to the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.

The No. 5 or 6 seed and avoiding the Play-In Tournament seemed unattainable at times during the season, but Doncic willed this team to 50 wins and has shown he deserves the MVP. Although it looks like Doncic will likely get robbed and be a runner-up for the MVP, he is clearly the best option for this award.

This season for Dallas, Doncic averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, 9.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from downtown. His improvement as a shooter off the catch has helped him fit much better next to Kyrie Irving and they have turned into one of the best duos in the NBA.

If Doncic can keep this MVP-caliber level of play up, the Mavs have a great chance at making an NBA Finals run.

Doncic gets an A+ for the year as he made history, led the Mavs to the No. 5 seed, and proved that he will be one of the faces of the NBA for years to come. With Doncic at the helm, the Mavs will be contenders almost every year.

For all the latest on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks during the 2024 NBA Playoffs, stay tuned. Dallas' first playoff game against the LA Clippers is today at 2:30 p.m. CT.