With Joel Embiid no longer eligible, the the NBA MVP race looks to be a tight one down the stretch. Nikola Jokic can bring home the award for a third time, but Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a trendy pick to obtain the crown this season. Luka Doncic might have something to say about that, though.

In fact, he made a thunderous statement in the Dallas Mavericks' 146-111 obliteration of the Thunder on Saturday afternoon. Doncic outplayed Gilgeous-Alexander, totaling 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds while his opponent tallied a box score line of 25/5/6. There is no debating who the better player was in this wire-to-wire home victory. But many fans believe this performance should settle any MVP argument between the All-Star guards once and for all.

“SGA is a terrific player, but I can’t help but watch this game and feel like Luka is clearly a tier above him,” one person posted on X. “SGA better not be above Luka on the MVP rankings,” said another. In light of these recent reactions, however, it is important to note that many Mavericks fans were incensed that Devin Booker beat out Doncic for Player of the Week honors at the end of January, even though the Phoenix Suns star objectively bested him in a head-to-head battle.

Nevertheless, the 24-year-old Slovenian native is putting together a spectacular season that is undeniably worthy of MVP consideration. Even his most glaring weakness was not an issue in this high-profile face-off. “And Luka outplayed him on defense, which is the main narrative people have been pushing to excuse SGA being ahead of him in the MVP race,” a fan wrote.

Perhaps the biggest feather on Doncic's cap, however, is that he has admittedly accomplished more offensively this year than Gilgeous-Alexander with less talent around him.

Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are each pulling off the incredible

Mavericks' Luka Doncic dunking

The trade deadline acquisitions of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford made a significant difference versus OKC and could pay dividends going forward, but Doncic has been without backcourt mate Kyrie Irving, rookie rim protector Dereck Lively II and other key contributors at different times of the year. He has had to carry Dallas more than a franchise pillar would prefer in the first half of the season. That makes his numbers- 34.6 points, 9.5 assists and 8.8 rebounds per game- even more astounding.

But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cannot just be brushed to the side in future MVP talks. He is dissecting defenses on a regular basis (missed only two games to Doncic's nine), shooting a blistering 54.7 percent from the field. And oh yeah, the Thunder (35-17) are only one game out of first place in the West, five-and-a-half-games ahead of the eighth-place Mavericks (30-23). The aforementioned disparity in roster talent must be acknowledged, but the 25-year-old Canadian's ability to lead a young team to a likely 50-plus-win campaign in a challenging Western Conference can't be ignored, either.

Translation: the NBA-watching world should be treated to a fun and competitive MVP chase. Though, if Luka Doncic can maintain this type of remarkable production and also launch Dallas a few spots up the standings, these vocal fans might get their wish.