Luka Doncic takes over lead in Kia MVP ladder as he continues torrid start

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is unstoppable right now. He is leading the league in scoring, despite opponents throwing every imaginable defense at the 23-year-old superstar. Doncic has solved them all and is averaging over 34 points per game, despite shooting 29.1 percent from 3-point range. He will start hitting more threes, which is even scarier for the rest of the NBA.

Luka’s biggest improvement this season is on the defensive end of the floor. He is second in the NBA in steals and averaging 2.0 per game through the team’s first 15 games. Doncic is never going to be a lockdown defender, but picking a few more pockets and creating turnovers has helped the team’s defense and allowed them to get a few easy buckets.

Luka Doncic has been incredible this season, and it was enough to move him into the top spot in NBA.com’s Kia MVP ladder on Nov. 18. Here is a closer look at the top five before examining number 77’s chances of winning the award at the end of the season.

Luka Doncic takes over the lead in the Kia MVP ladder as he continues torrid start

Doncic was second in the previous version, but Giannis Antetokounmpo missing time coupled with Luka staying white hot moved the Mavs superstar into the lead. Number 77 only improved his numbers after a 31-point triple-double in the win over the Nuggets on Friday night, and he is producing 34.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 8.1 assists, and 2.0 steals per game heading into Sunday’s rematch with Denver.

Giannis slipped to third in the voting after missing a few games with Jayson Tatum moving into the number two spot. Boston currently has the best record in the league as Tatum is averaging over 31 points per game. Nikola Jokic and Ja Morant round out the top five on Nov. 18.

A lot will change before the award is handed out during the postseason. The Dallas Mavericks are just over 18 percent of the way through their regular season, so there is a ton still to be decided. The Western Conference is wide open, and Luka Doncic has been fantastic thus far. Can the 23-year-old keep it up the entire season? Stay tuned to find out.