ESPN's NBA MVP Straw-Poll: Nikola Jokic Favorite; Luka Doncic Plummets?

Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic is currently the favorite to win the 2023 NBA MVP award over Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic, per ESPN's latest straw poll.

The NBA standings in both conferences have begun to settle, with teams at the top gaining separation over many of the rest. The 2023 NBA MVP race has seemingly taken shape as a result. 

ESPN's Tim Bontemps released the latest straw poll to determine how MVP voters may be leaning to this point of the season. In the first edition, Jayson Tatum ranked atop the list, but the margin in which he did was narrow enough to suggest that the race was indeed wide open.

Right now, the clear-cut favorite to win the MVP is Nikola Jokic. He has led the Denver Nuggets to a staggering 41-18 record in a loaded Western Conference. He is averaging 24.7 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 10.1 assists. He's doing so while shooting 63.2 percent from the floor and 39.1 percent from 3-point range. 

If Jokic wins the award, he will become the first player to win three consecutive MVP awards since Larry Bird accomplished the feat from 1984 to 1986. There has been occasional commentary about the historical implications of that, but regardless, he has been the most deserving candidate to this point. 

Luka Doncic has undoubtedly fallen entirely out of favor as an MVP candidate at this stage. He ranked fifth overall, trailing Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, and Tatum. Although Doncic received a first-place vote, he has dropped from his third-place previous ranking. 

The Dallas Mavericks would need to go on a significant run coming out of the All-Star break for Doncic to re-establish himself as one of the top finalists, let alone the frontrunner. He has entered the past few seasons as a familiar favorite, but the Mavs have proven unable to reach the top of the Western Conference standings to make it happen. 

A significant factor that has weighed down the Mavs' success has been the lack of a viable co-star alongside Doncic, along with an outright inability to consistently execute on defense. Dallas has since added Kyrie Irving. Now, they must improve from being the 24th ranked defense and there is no shortage of areas to address.

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