Will Luka Doncic win the 2024-25 NBA MVP Award? Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas is a believer in Doncic's chances. While speaking on his show, Gil's Arena, Arenas explained why he is so confident in Doncic heading into the new campaign.
“I don't want to put this type of pressure on him, I'd be surprised if he don't have a triple-double,” Arenas said of Doncic. “Because if you were averaging that many assists with what you had, now you have a guy who's a catch-and-shoot (Klay Thompson). So, some of your assists will come without even any effort… You should average a triple-double. He will probably be the number one candidate for MVP. He's going to do something that hasn't been done in a few years, and that's average a triple-double.”
Luka Doncic for MVP: But will he average a triple-double?
Will Doncic average a triple-double during the 2024-25 season? The 25-year-old has come close to accomplishing the feat in the past. In 2023-24, he averaged 33.9 points, 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per game. Doncic may see an increase in his assists but adding another rebound per outing could prove to be difficult.
Luka's career-high in rebounds per game is 9.4, which he accomplished during his second year in the league (2019-20). He will usually be joined by either Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford while on the floor.
With that being said, it is worth noting that Doncic averaged more rebounds per game than the Mavs centers last season. Of course, part of that comes down to playing time. Luka's minutes allow him to add more stats such as rebounds to his total.
In the end, Luka Doncic does not pay attention to the outside noise. He is focused on leading the Mavericks to victories. The Mavs' primary goal is to win a championship.
However, Doncic is among the favorites to win the MVP. And it wouldn't be shocking to see him average a triple-double as well.