NBA MVP power rankings week 15: Where does Nikola Jokic stand?

3. Luka Doncic

Stat to know: Doncic is second in the NBA in scoring and his 73 points on Jan. 26 were tied for the fourth-most in a game in league history.

Luka has made first-team All-NBA for four straight years and continues to improve. The 24-year-old is setting new career highs in points, assists, steals, and 3-pointers made this season. He is shooting 37.5 percent from 3-point range and is a truly unstoppable offensive force. Doncic leads the league in minutes per game and continues to put up unfathomable numbers.

He is second in scoring and third in assists each night. Doncic also sits third in VORP and fourth in box plus-minus.

The thing hurting Luka’s MVP case the most is the Mavericks record. They are currently 26-21, but seventh in the Western Conference. Just two games separate them from fifth, but it will be difficult to win MVP if his team does not even make the playoffs. Dallas would be in the Play-In Tournament if the season ended today, and the Mavericks need to win more to boost number 77’s MVP odds.

Luka Doncic’s 73-point game was the signature performance voters look for, and he is certainly producing the stats. It will come down to his team’s record and how he closes the season. If Doncic can have another historic performance or two, his MVP case will be difficult to ignore.