Mavericks' Luka Doncic Falls Out of Latest NBA MVP Ladder

A slow start combined with a new injury has him out of the early MVP race

Nov 3, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts to receiving a technical foul during the second half against the Orlando Magic at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

It hasn't been an ideal start to the season for the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic, who expected to dominate the league after making the NBA Finals last year. He's averaging 28.1 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 7.6 APG while shooting 43.5% from the floor. Those numbers still look great but are a decent-sized fall-off from the 33.9/9.2/9.8 that he averaged last year.

His personal start, the Mavericks sitting at 8-7 (and winning a game against the OKC Thunder without him), and now him missing at least the next week with a wrist strain, has him completely out of the NBA's weekly MVP Ladder.

READ MORE: Will Nikola Jokic or Luka Doncic Play in Mavericks-Nuggets?

Shaun Powell's latest MVP Ladder has Luka Doncic listed in the "Five More" honorable mentions with Jaylen Brown, Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Victor Wembanyama. The top ten, in order, are Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Donovan Mitchell, and De'Aaron Fox.

Doncic had been eighth in the last few MVP Ladders but entered the season as the favorite to win MVP. He has since dropped to sixth on FanDuel's MVP odds at +1400 behind Jokic (+220), Gilgeous-Alexander (+280), Tatum (+410), Antetokounmpo (+1100), and Edwards (+1100).

If the Mavericks can continue Sunday's trend of winning without Doncic, as they did by beating the OKC Thunder, it won't help his MVP campaign. Dallas has a good team surrounding Kyrie Irving and Doncic that can still succeed in the regular season if one of their stars goes down, but the Mavs will need Doncic at the top of his game to have a chance to win the championship.

READ MORE: Former Rising Star Says Mavs 'Threatened' Trade After Luka Doncic Draft

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