A European has won the NBA MVP in each of the last four seasons. Not a few NBA general managers believe that the Maurice Podoloff Trophy will still be making a trip across the pond when it is all said and done in the 2022-23 NBA season, as they believe Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic will be finally getting his turn to win it.
In a recent survey of NBA general managers about who will win the 2022-23 Kia MVP, Luka Doncic got the highest number of votes, with 48 percent picking him to be the next in line to take home the prestigious award. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo received the second number of votes (34%), while Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers came in fourth (14%). Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors rounded out the top four with 3% of the votes. Interestingly enough, Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic who won MVP in each of the last two seasons did not crack the top four.
It is still too early to tell who exactly is the real frontrunner to win the NBA MVP award in the 2022-23 season, but it is safe to say that Luka Doncic is not just the most important player of the Mavs but also among the top talents in the league to watch out for. Luka Doncic has gradually become better and better in the NBA. Last season, he posted a career-high 5.9 VORP (Value Over Replacement Player). Doncic averaged 28.4 points on 45.7 percent shooting from the field, assisted 8.7 times per contest, and pulled down 9.1 rebounds per night across 65 games for the Mavericks. He did all that to carry the Mavs all the way to the Western Conference Finals, coming up just three wins short of reaching the NBA Finals.
The road back to the playoffs isn't going to be easy for the Mavs, and this team will only go as far as where Luka Doncic takes them. It's going to take the Slovenian an MVP-type of play for the entire season for Dallas to surpass the furthest point they reached in 2021-22.
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