MVP race gets even tighter
The battle for the NBA’s regular-season MVP is heating up, and the field of contenders has not exactly settled itself. The level of play among the top candidates remains sky-high, and the latest rankings have produced more than a few raised eyebrows among fans.
One of the bigger shifts has been Luka Doncic’s fall from second to fourth place in the race. The Slovenian guard, who had just been named Western Conference Player of the Week again, is drawing criticism for one thing in particular: his defense. Because apparently even video-game offense does not exempt anyone from the rest of the court.
Mannix joins the criticism
A few days ago, ESPN’s Michael Wilbon went after Doncic’s defense. On Tuesday, it was Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated who took aim at the Lakers star.
Mannix did not soften the message.
“His defensive numbers have been terrible. For example, Luka has an individual defensive rating of 115.6 this year. That would put him 119th among the 180 players with more than 25 starts this season. So, by any measurable statistic, he has been one of the worst defensive players in the league.”
Mannix later made clear that he still values Doncic’s production on offense, but said he cannot ignore the defensive side of the equation when the MVP race is this close.
“I have Luka Doncic in my second tier. He is the best offensive player in the entire league, but I cannot ignore his defensive stats when the competition is so close,” Mannix said. “I know there will be some criticism about Luka being in the second tier, but even though he has been exceptional on offense, I have to take his defense into account.”
He then laid out the four players currently in his top group for the award.
“My first group of players is the following: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic and Jaylen Brown. Those four players are in my first group and are the four I am considering voting for as MVP,” he said.
Strong numbers, but questions remain
Doncic is not exactly a defensive specialist, but the former Real Madrid guard has still reached a notable milestone. He has become only the second player after Kobe Bryant in 2013 to average 30 points per game and reach 100 steals in a season.
That is not the sort of thing a player does if his defense is completely absent, no matter how loudly the critics want to suggest otherwise. The Ljubljana native is averaging 1.6 steals per game this season and ranks in the top 10 in total steals.
There is also the small matter of what happens when he is not on the floor. The Lakers are 6-6 without their star, a .500 record that underlines just how dependent the team is on him. By comparison, players such as Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic have stronger team records because their teams can still win without them, which always seems to matter when voters start weighing value.
Doncic remains the NBA’s leading scorer and has been turning in impressive performances on a regular basis. Still, for some voters, this may not be the year he finally takes home the league’s top individual award.
