One game does not make or break a player's MVP candidacy. We often like to pretend that it does, but it doesn't and it shouldn't, and here's why: Imagine there's a marquee matchup in late March between two MVP candidates. Typically how it goes is whichever star performs at a higher level and comes away with the win will often be catapulted to the top of the MVP rankings while his opponent is criticized and his MVP candidacy is ripped to shreds, whether it's fair or unfair. That's just the hot take, 24/7 news cycle world we live in. But these games in early portion of the season often get forgotten, lost in the shuffle of over 2,000 more games, despite being just as meaningful as any other game that's played between mid-October and mid-April. Well, I say let's amend that. Rather than waiting until Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic does this all over again in February, March, or April, let's just enjoy the Luka Magic as it's taking place right now.

Through two games, Luka Doncic has picked up where he's left off each of the last few seasons… Mercilessly plunging daggers into opponents' hearts, leading the Dallas Mavericks in most statistical categories, and making it all look pretty routine in the process, even when he's nailing off-balance, on-handed, no-look, banked-in three-pointers like this one.

I mean, what the hell even is that? I know Luka has made plenty of shots like this before (like here, and here, and here, and here) but it remains ridiculous no matter how many times the Mavs star does it. And every time Doncic hits one of these shots or has a scoring barrage, you look at his numbers after the fact and they're even crazier than the shot itself.

Good question, FanDuel! The answer to that question likely lies in how many games the Dallas Mavericks win. But assuming the Mavs can avoid the Play-In Tournament and crack the top six in the Western Conference, the numbers are going to be there for Luka to win his first MVP, and he'll have no shortage of MVP moments in his back pocket to rely on too. We just gotta make sure we remember these ones in the earlier weeks of the season.

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https://twitter.com/big_business_/status/1718097549788078451

Well put, KOC. Well put.