5 Things Dallas Mavericks fans should root for, 5 to root against to close season

8. For: Luka Doncic to win the NBA MVP

Despite what most people in the national media are saying right now, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is making his case for the 2024 NBA MVP every single game.

This season, Doncic is averaging 34.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 9.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 38 percent from downtown. Doncic makes the game look easy, and his leadership alongside Kyrie Irving is why the Mavericks are playing so well right now.

No matter what opposing teams do, they can't stop Doncic. He has to be accounted for 100 percent of the time while on offense, and his improvement as a shooter off the catch has helped this Mavericks offense get even better.

Doncic has also improved tremendously on the defensive end, as he is averaging a career-high 1.5 steals per game. When Doncic is locked in on defense, so is the rest of the team. This team will go as far as Doncic takes them, and Dallas' rise in the West needs to be taken into consideration when voters vote for the MVP.

The Mavs have gone from a team that was likely going to be in the Play-In Tournament to a team that can win the NBA Finals, and that has been due to Doncic's ability to lead this team and take his game to the next level.

Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nikola Jokic are the three frontrunners, and only time will tell who wins the 2024 NBA MVP.