Why Luka Doncic is an unquestionable first-team All-NBA selection

Dallas Mavericks could finish in the top 4 behind superstar Luka Doncic

Much gets made about where teams finish in the standings in the awards races. Yes, every team plays to win the game, but players on rookie deals do not have much say in the talent around them. Superstars team up as they hit free agency, but Luka has not reached the open market in his career.

The Mavericks traded away their second-best player at the deadline, and Luka has led them to eight wins in their last ten games.

Dallas is just a half-game behind the Utah Jazz for fourth in the Western Conference, and Doncic is the only player even sniffing star status on the Mavericks roster. The Suns have Devin Booker and Chris Paul, plus a host of talented role players. Golden State has at least three Hall of Famers at the top of their roster. Ja Morant has become a superstar in Memphis surrounded by a bunch of young talent that is all taking a leap. Luka is lifting the role players in Dallas to compete with the best in the West.

This is no knock on the Dallas Mavericks roster, which has impressed this season under first-year head coach Jason Kidd, but what do the standings matter when assessing the best players in the league? Could Ja Morant, Stephen Curry, Trae Young, or Devin Booker lead the Mavs to a better record than Luka? Who knows.

All voters should be judging on is numbers and individual play. Taking out the team’s record is the only fair way to decide the All-NBA teams with dollars on the line for the players involved.