Markieff Morris on Luka Doncic 'Carrying' Dallas Mavs: 'Don't See Why He's Not No. 1 for MVP'

After yet another masterclass performance from Luka Doncic on Saturday night in Portland, his Dallas Mavericks teammate Markieff Morris wonders why the 24-year-old superstar isn't leading the NBA MVP discussion.

Dalton Trigg | Dec 17, 2023

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Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks are off to their best start in the Jason Kidd coaching era at 16-9, and the main reason for that is the stellar play of Luka Doncic. The 24-year-old superstar is averaging 32.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game while leading his team to third-place in the Western Conference despite the team dealing with several key injuries – including co-star Kyrie Irving with a heel contusion.

During the Mavs' 131-120 road win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night, Doncic put on yet another jaw-dropping performance, as he finished with 40 points – 30 of which were scored in the first half alone – 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Doncic (8) passed NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain (7) for fourth-place on the NBA's all-time 40-point triple-double list.

USATSI_22122443 — Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

After the game, veteran forward Markieff Morris, who had a decent outing of his own with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal in 20 minutes off the bench, said he doesn't understand why there isn't more MVP hype around his four-time All-NBA First Team teammate.

"Man I've played with some great players, but the game is just so easy to him," Morris said of Doncic. "I've never seen somebody like damn-near walk through the game. He plays the same way in practice. It's his skill. Yeah man, I don't know see why he's not No. 1 in the running for MVP. I just don't get it. Because he's carrying our team – scoring, rebounds and assists – on a nightly basis."

Mavs' Luka Doncic Makes NBA History, Passes Wilt Chamberlain with 40-Point Triple-Double

Although Doncic has yet to top any of the national media's projected NBA MVP lists 25 games into the season, if he keeps producing at his current rate while the Mavs keep winning games, he should be the frontrunner. The Mavs are winning games despite having to deal with a handful of injuries, so once they get healthy, giving Doncic more roster depth to work with ... look out.

Published Dec 17, 2023

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.