What makes a superstar deserving to win an MVP? Is it the individual stats and accolades garnered throughout the regular season or where your team ends up in the standings? Although this question does not have a right answer, Luka Doncic‘s MVP candidature is in the heat of this debate this year. Despite leading the league in scoring (33.9 points) and putting up historic numbers, many believe Luka does not deserve to take the MVP trophy home. And veteran analyst Michael Holley supports that claim for another significant reason.

Witnessing Luka’s failure against the LA Clippers in the playoffs, Holley believes the Mavs superstar does not belong in the MVP conversation. If the Slovenian Sensation fails to get past Kawhi Leonard and Co. this year, this will be his third career first-round playoff exit against the same team. Co-host Michael Smith then rebounded the same sentiment, saying, “I don’t give two sh**s about Luka and the Mavs sh***ing the bed in previous playoffs when it comes to what Luka did this year”. And that bothers Holley even though the MVP is a regular-season award.

To back his claim, he said, “I do not fear a Luka Doncic-led team because I need to see something else.” 

Rubbing salt on Doncic’s wounds, Holley added, “I think he is fun to watch. I need some fear in my heart.” What made players like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant great was that they instilled fear in their opponents’ hearts. But Doncic does not seem to have the same effect in the postseason. Yes, he does everything on the court for the Mavs and propels them to the playoffs every season, but that might not be enough to make him the MVP. Not when players like Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have a similar impact with better standings.

The series against the Clippers might define Luka Doncic’s legacy

Holley’s claim about Doncic’s playoff failure against the Clippers might be correct. However, it should also be taken into account that he was in the early stages of his career when he faced Kawhi Leonard and Co. At only 20 years old, Luka made his first playoff appearance against the Clippers in 2020. Even then, he extended the series to 6 games and averaged a near triple-double with 31 points along with 9.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists. And in the next year when Doncic met them again, he had an even more impressive performance.

Doncic singlehandedly took the Clippers to a 7-game series. Not only that. He dominated their defense, averaging 35.7 points. He also dished out 10.3 assists and grabbed nearly eight rebounds on all those nights. So, it is not fair to use those playoff exits against Doncic’s MVP candidature because he performed better than many superstars could at that age. Meanwhile, this year, the story is different.

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He is an established superstar and arguably the best offensive player in the league. But if he loses to the Clippers again, it will surely be held against him.

With the Mavs down 0-1 in the series, Luka needs to bring out the infamous Luka Magic to save the Mavs’ season and his legacy. It will also help people like Michael Holley believe that he is ready to win the MVP award.