Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic Falls in Latest MVP Ladder

Doncic has set his expectations too high and hasn't delivered to start the season

Nov 10, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) during the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks have started the season 5-7, not how they envisioned their attempt to defend their Western Conference crown. Luka Doncic entered the season as the MVP favorite, and while his base stats of 29.3 PPG, 8.0 APG, and 8.0 RPG look fine, he's shooting poorly from the floor and from three.

With that start, Doncic is now in eighth on the NBA's MVP ladder, even behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has won four games. He's also behind Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Davis, and Stephen Curry.

READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks 'Not Concerned' With Kyrie Irving's Injury

Doncic has also slipped to the fourth-highest odds to win MVP on FanDuel at +900, behind Jokic (+210), Gilgeous-Alexander (+290), and Tatum (+470). Anthony Edwards is tied with Doncic at +900.

A lot of the Mavericks' latest losses can be attributed to some late blunders by Luka Doncic. He left John Collins wide open underneath the rim after a miscommunication with the bench on Thursday night against the Jazz, took poor shots late against the Nuggets on Sunday and the Warriors on Tuesday, and has had either three or five turnovers in each of his last five games. He just hasn't had the success many predicted following last year's run to the NBA Finals.

Dallas is just 12 games into the season, so there's still plenty of time to stack up some wins and for Doncic to pick up his efficiency, but it's been an ugly start so far.

READ MORE: Mavs' Luka Doncic Owns Up to Crucial Late Blunder Against Jazz

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