Could Mavs’ wunderkind Luka Doncic become the youngest NBA player to win MVP?
His name is already firmly planted on the lips of those in the NBA — foes, friends and fans alike — and with the opening of the regular season a week away, Luka Doncic is ready to challenge for the league’s MVP and perhaps make history.
At least that’s the hype.
Doncic, the Slovenian wunderkind, is headed into the third year of his NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks, could quite possibly be the youngest to nab the coveted regular season Most Valuable Player award — if he pulls it off. He has a firm backing, especially in the eyes of sports oddsmakers, who have now placed him as a consensus favorite to win the award over Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is fresh off signing a five-year, $228.2 contract extension with the Milwaukee Bucks.
According to ESPN, both Doncic and Antetokounmpo opened at +500 co-favorites at Caesars Sportsbook on Nov. 10. Since then, Doncic has taken the solo favorite spot and sits at +400 (which means you’d have to bet $100 to win $400) — ahead of the likes of Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
On Tuesday, ESPN reported that several NBA executives and scouts are in Doncic’s corner when judging the young star’s MVP potential — and while some are on the fence or doubtful, others are keeping the guard in their line of vision. Once participant out of the eight members of NBA front offices ESPN anonymously surveyed said something surprising when asked who they currently think the best player in the league is.
“If you put a gun to my head and you have to go win a playoff series, I’d say LeBron,” an Eastern Conference scout told ESPN. “But I’ll tell you what: That motherf---er in Dallas is coming.... That dude is going to win multiple MVPs.”
Others are less enthusiastic — but it has nothing to do with Doncic himself, but rather with his supporting cast and the deadly opposition in the Western Conference this season.
“This all hinges on Doncic actually improving on his absurd numbers from last season, the healthy return of Kristaps Porzingis from offseason knee surgery, and the new acquisitions doing something this team did poorly last season — defend,” reported the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Last season Donic averaged 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game.
If the stars align and the golden boy manages to nab that coveted MVP honor, he will do so at 22-years-old, which is what he turns on Feb. 28. Will that make him the youngest to win the award? Well, if the sports world hadn’t been thrown into a global pandemic, perhaps.
The regular season, which is scheduled to begin on Dec. 22, has now been reduced to 72 games, and barring any COVID related complications, the 16-team playoff format will begin between May 22 and July 22 — which is most likely when the winner of the race will be announced. That will make Doncic 22 years and between 3 to 5 months old.
This puts the guard toe-to-toe age wise with Derrick Rose, who at 22 years and 5 months old, took home the MVP award on May 3, 2011. Rose, who also won Rooke of the Year a couple years prior to his MVP win, nabbed the “youngest” title from Wes Unseld, who won the award (during his rookie year where he also won Rookie of the Year) at the age of 23 in 1969.
Other notable young stars to win the award are the following:
Bob McAdoo: 23
Wilt Chamberlain: 23
Bob Pettit: 24
Bill Russell: 24
Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar): 24
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Could Mavs’ wunderkind Luka Doncic become the youngest NBA player to win MVP?."