One former NBA champion isn’t sold on the potential MVP campaign of Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic.
Kendrick Perkins, who spent 14 seasons in the NBA and now serves as an analyst for ESPN, isn’t in favor of Doncic even being mentioned in MVP discussions.
When Perkins shared his top five candidates — Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, Ja Morant and Tyrese Haliburton — the 2008 NBA Finals champ himself was adamant on his stance regarding Doncic.
“Not only do you have to have great individual numbers, but your team has to be winning,” Perkins said on ESPN’s “NBA Today” on Wednesday. “Your team can’t be sitting at the number ninth or tenth spot at a .500 record and you expect for him to be in the MVP conversation. It’s just not how it works.”
After dropping a game-high 41 points against the Golden State Warriors en route to a 116-113 win on Tuesday, Doncic, who has notched five 40-plus point performances in 19 games played thus far, leads the way in the early MVP race, according to oddsmakers.
While Perkins isn’t on board with the oddsmakers, the 38-year-old did acknowledge what Doncic has managed to accomplish thus far.
“Luka has been doing his thing, individually,” Perkins said. “But last time I checked, your team has to have success and be up in the top tier as well.”
The 23-year-old All-Star has averaged an NBA-leading and career-best — as of Wednesday — 33.5 points per game with 8.8 rebounds and 8.6 assists while shooting 50.5% from the field, 31.5% from beyond the arc and 72.3% from the charity stripe.
