Dallas Mavs' Kyrie Irving Makes Strong MVP Case for Luka Doncic

Mavs superstar Kyrie Irving praises Luka Doncic's impact amid an MVP-caliber season.

Dec 6, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrates with Dallas / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks have received dynamic production from Luka Doncic throughout the 2023-24 season, whether the team is healthy or he was helping the team overcome injuries to various key players. Despite the circumstances, the Mavs accomplished a 50-win season, with Doncic averaging 33.9 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.2 rebounds.

Doncic's superstar teammate, Kyrie Irving, made a passionate case for the Slovenian superstar to be this year's MVP, stating the statistical output he's offered should be more than sufficient. With Irving dealing with numerous multi-game injury absences earlier this season, he praised Doncic for guiding the Mavs to an 11-8 record without him.

“His stats speak for themselves. He’s first in a lot of different categories," Irving said of Doncic. "He’s held this team up when I wasn’t able to be in the lineup and I was injured. There are a lot of factors that I factor to his MVP case, and me as a brother of his, I have the utmost love and support to give him. I want to see him win MVP.”

Feb 22, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) celebrates with Dallas / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

If Doncic doesn't get named the MVP this season, Irving is confident it will happen in the future, considering the trajectory he's been on as a reigning four-time All-NBA First-Team recipient who celebrated his 25th birthday in February.

“If it’s not going to be this year,” Irving said, “it’s going to be in the eventual future, or the near future.”

Irving praised the Mavs as a whole for managing to achieve a 50-win season despite dealing with a significant amount of injuries to rotation plays in addition to the team having to adjust midseason to trading for new players like P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford. The team managed to go from being a poor defensive squad to leading the NBA in defensive rating over the last 18 games while going 16-2.

“We did it under crazy circumstances this season,” Irving said after Wednesday’s win, the team’s 50th. “Injuries, trades, uncertainty with how we were going to figure out the defensive end, expectations we had from the beginning of the season, individually or externally from the basketball world.”

The Mavs promoted Doncic's MVP candidacy before their matchup against the Miami Heat by wearing "Pravi MVP" shirts, meaning "Real MVP" in Slovenian. Irving described the effort as a statement to highlight how special Doncic has been this season for the organization.

“It was a statement. We all knew how special this year was going to be, and (when) I say we, I mean us in that locker room and organization, we knew,” Irving said. “He challenged his teammates, challenged me, and he (did) it in his own way. I think that’s the true sign of MVP: coming into the season and really initiating himself into that leadership role, doing it on both ends of the court.

Many consider Nikola Jokic as the current frontrunner to earn the MVP award, but Doncic certainly remains a strong candidate to earn the honor. The NBA will announce the winner of the award during the postseason.