There is no doubt that Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncuc is an MVP candidate. He is the be-all and end-all of the Mavs, who will go as far as where the Slovenian takes them.
Doncic has been consistently putting up scintillating numbers for the Mavs, who are barely hovering above .500, but definitely would have been in a much worse state if it weren't for the omnipresence of Doncic. In fact, Doncic has just become the first player in the history of the NBA to put together a spectacular stat line after the first 25 games of a season, as pointed out by Tommy Beer.
Luka Doncic is averaging:
33.1 points (on 50% shooting)
8.6 rebounds
8.8 assists
He is the first player ever in NBA history to average more than 32 points, more than 8 boards and more than 8 assists over the first 25 games of a season.
Scary to think he's still just 23
Doncic's most recent heroics for the Mavs was a 38-point performance in a 121-114 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday which helped snap Dallas prevent a three-game losing skid. Prior to that game, the Mavs lost to the Milwaukee Bucks and to the Chicago Bulls. In addition to his scoring output, Doncic also dished out eight assists and 11 rebounds in 34 minutes of action on the floor.
Apart from raw stats that support his MVP case, Doncic also leads the NBA in terms of Estimated Plus-Minus, Value Over Replacement Player, and Win Shares. Dallas can't be wasting the incredible season Doncic is having, so hopefully, for the Mavs, the team starts to win games more consistently again.