Luka Doncic missed the last two games with a right thigh contusion and his campaign for Rookie of the Year was likely over. However, the Dallas Mavericks offered some glimmer of hope for fans of the Slovenian sensation by upgrading his status ahead of their Wednesday matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Doncic has been a shoo-in for the Rookie of the Year award nearly all season after storming out of the gates with a string of impressive performances and helping the Mavs go over .500 for the first time since April 2016. The ‘positionless forward' has also been setting records left and right at the strength of his patented stepback threes, nifty veteran offensive moves, and crunch time prowess en route to a likely sweep of the Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors.

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But on the East, the Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young has had a dominant March and most importantly, has led his team to victories (unlike the Mavs who have been losing frequently) which hold a ton of weight when evaluating players in what is essentially still a team game. Should Doncic have been unable to play the rest of the season – and he is definitely a shut-down candidate being the best player on a team with nothing to play for anymore but losses to ensure they get to keep their first-round pick – one could pencil April in favor of Young already, giving him some ammunition when the rookie plum is decided.

At any rate, should Doncic continue to play the remaining games, he has a good chance at putting the breaks on any other contender and ensure the award goes to Big D as many have predicted.