Luka Doncic will win MVP this season due to under-the-radar reason

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic already has several accolades to his name. However, there are still at least a couple missing from his resume, including an MVP and a championship.

He came close to securing both last season, finishing third in the race for the top individual plum in the NBA behind Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and leading the Mavs to the Finals.

It remains to be seen which would come first, although an MVP award is also possible for the Slovenian superstar, which would also continue an uncanny streak of non-Americans bagging the prize.

Gilbert Arenas believes Klay Thompson will help Luka Doncic win MVP

Three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas thinks Doncic's MVP pursuit will get a major boost with the arrival of Klay Thompson.

On his podcast, "Gil's Arena," he said that the Mavs floor general is expected to dish out more assists this season because some of his passes will be directed to a historically elite shooter.

In addition, Arenas posited that Doncic should average a triple-double for the entire season, a feat last achieved by Russell Westbrook in the 2020-21 campaign. Doing so should make Luka the No. 1 MVP candidate, per "Agent Zero."

Even without stepping foot on a court as teammates, the Luka-Klay tandem already looks like a perfect duo.

With Thompson wreaking havoc off the ball and getting to his spots, Doncic will have more room to operate to either score or find an open teammate. Given that the five-time All-NBA First-Team selection averaged 9.8 assists per contest in the 2023-24 campaign, reaching double-digits this coming season in that department is undoubtedly doable.

Hauling in at least 10.0 rebounds per game is a different story, although Doncic came close to registering that many boards. His 9.2 rebounds per match helped him nearly already average a triple-double in the 2023-24 season, which was also a reason he was wrongfully robbed of MVP.

It wouldn't be a surprise to see Doncic eclipse that mark this year, but it's unclear how Thompson could help him do so. Perhaps having the former Golden State Warriors star take care of the hardest perimeter defensive assignments will allow "Luka Magic" to focus more on the defensive rebounds.

Some might accuse Doncic of stat-padding. However, Dallas actually benefits from its franchise cornerstone being the first guy to touch the ball once it gains possession because it's an effective way to jumpstart the offense without giving the opponent enough time to set its defense up.

Doncic being so close to averaging a triple-double is definitely something that fell under the radar, and this would be an easy way to help boost his MVP votes. It may not guarantee him the award, but he would be deep in the hunt once again.

The Mavs faithful are excited to watch the five-time All-Star bring home the Michael Jordan Trophy. If he can couple that with a ring, it would surely be doubly sweeter.