ESPN Analyst on Dallas Mavs Star Luka Doncic's MVP Odds: 'Going To Run Out of Time!'

The Dallas Mavericks are heating up at the right time, but will it be enough to help Luka Doncic win his first MVP?

Mar 31, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) drives with the ball. / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic are in a race against time if he's going to win the first MVP of his career this season.

The Mavs have caught fire of late, winning seven straight games and 11 of their last 12 and moving up to the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Doncic has been on fire, averaging 31.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 9.3 assists during the Mavs' (45-29) streak.

Mar 31, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) drives with the ball. / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Even with that run and Doncic's Mavs closing the gap, winning MVP still appears to be a long shot, and ESPN analyst Tim Legler thinks he'll run out of time before having a real chance to claim the award for the first time in his career.

"I thought Luka at the trade deadline when they got hot, I thought this guy is going to end up winning the MVP," Legler said. "He's going to run out of time because he's not going to have enough wins. If you had 15 or 20 games left in the year, he's running everybody down because I don't think you can be six [or] seven wins behind the guys we're talking about."

Legler added: "I just think that's going to be the ultimate determining factor for people when they cast that vote. The way he's playing [and] the way the Mavericks are playing right now, the only thing that's going to keep from winning one is they're going to run out of time."

The Mavs have been one of the NBA's best since the trade deadline, going 16-6. That run has moved Dallas out of the play-in and it's just two games back of the Los Angeles Clippers for the fourth seed.

While Dallas is peaking at the right time, Doncic's play has been stellar throughout the season, as he's averaging 34 points, 9.8 assists and 9.1 rebounds per game. Those stats compare to other MVP candidates like Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who is averaging 26.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and nine assists per game, and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 30.3 points, 6.3 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Where they get the edge is in team performance, as the Nuggets (52-23) and Thunder (52-22) are jockeying for the No. 1 seed in the West. The best case scenario for Dallas and Doncic is moving up to the No. 4 seed, and even that might not be enough in the eyes of the writers who vote on MVP.

While team performance should certainly be a factor, it's not like Dallas is a middling team that is clinging to a playoff spot by the skin of its teeth. Barring a late collapse, the Mavs are going to be a top-six seed in a loaded Western Conference and have a shot at 50 wins. If that's not successful enough for Doncic to be considered a bonafide MVP candidate, then it'll be tough for a lot of players to ever have a shot at winning the award.