10 Reasons Luka Doncic was wrongfully robbed of the 2024 NBA MVP

5. Ability to play through pain and injuries

If you aren’t watching the Dallas Mavericks on a game-by-game basis, you probably wouldn’t have realized that Luka Doncic is one of the toughest players in the entire NBA. Doncic suited up for 70 of Dallas’ 82 regular season contests, all the while coming off of a summer where he had gotten virtually no rest when one takes into account that Mavericks training camp started very shortly after Slovenia’s 2023 World Cup run.

Getting into better playing shape to handle his laborious workload was a huge point of emphasis for Doncic last summer, and it’s certainly something that has contributed to his sustainability on the court this season for the Mavericks.

There have been numerous times throughout the regular season that Doncic has been listed on the injury report for the Mavericks, yet more often than not he ends up playing whilst posting a ridiculous stat-line. It has been evident per the eye test that Doncic has played in some noticeable pain and discomfort throughout many points this regular season as well, as him battling through his current knee sprain in the playoffs is a microcosm of the toughness that Doncic has exhibited for the Mavericks all season long.

Doncic did all of this while nearly leading the league in minutes with 37.5 minutes played per game on average this season, and while no fans want to see Doncic get hurt in a meaningless regular season game because of being over-extended, it’s hard to argue that any player in the league has shown as much toughness and willpower to stay on the court while still performing at an extremely high level as Doncic has this season.