Luka Doncic Will Be the “No. 1 Candidate for MVP”, Predicts Gilbert Arenas

Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were locked in a tight three-way battle for the 2024 League MVP award. While Jokic ended up winning the award, Doncic was placed third behind SGA in the MVP voting. However, Doncic has a better chance to win the award next season after the Dallas Mavericks’ dominant run to the NBA Finals.

However, Gilbert Arenas believes that Doncic will finally get his hands on the MVP award after the 2024-25 season for a different reason.

On Gil’s Arena, the 3x All-Star seemed confident that the Mavs superstar will average a triple-double during the next season, which will consolidate his claim for the MVP award.

Arenas wouldn’t be surprised if Doncic becomes the third player after Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson to accomplish the feat. He expects the five-time All-Star’s assists numbers to spring up after Klay Thompson’s arrival.

As per Arenas, the Slovenian superstar can collect easy assists by just passing the ball to Thompson, who is bound to get a lot of open looks with Doncic and Kyrie Irving on the floor. Therefore, an elite passer like Luka will record even more assists per game with a catch-and-shooter like Klay on the team.

Arenas said, “I’d be surprised if he don’t average a triple-double because if you was averaging that many assists with what you had, now, you have a guy who’s a catch-and-shoot, so some of your assists will come without any effort this time. You should average a triple-double.”

Arenas is sure that Doncic will tally the first triple-double season since Westbrook’s triple-double campaign during the 2016-17 season. In the process, he expected Doncic to become the top choice for the MVP award.

“He [Luka] will probably be the number one candidate for MVP. He’s gonna do something that hasn’t been done in a few years and that’s averaging a triple-double.”

Luka will average a Triple Double pic.twitter.com/bWhLtC0QXg

— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) September 14, 2024

The former Washington Wizards guard has a solid argument here. Last season, the Mavs superstar came the closest to averaging a triple-double, putting up 33.9 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.2 rebounds per game. He missed out by merely 14 assists and 53 rebounds. 

After Thompson’s inclusion, his assists number are likely to go up and additionally, the Mavericks can finish higher than the fourth seed.

If the Mavs are around the 1-3 spot in the West standings, then Doncic’s claim to the MVP throne would see a massive uptick. If he does win the MVP award, then he’d repeat the heroics of fellow Mavs legend, Dirk Nowitzki.

Nowitzki lost the 2006 Finals against the Miami Heat, but then went on to win the 2007 MVP award. He put up 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, leading the Mavs to a franchise-record 67 wins during the 2006-07 season. 

Doncic and his Mavs lost to the Celtics in five games during the 2024 Finals. He will have a chip on his shoulder to further elevate his game and nab his maiden MVP award.