The Los Angeles Lakers just made the biggest ownership move in franchise history, and it has given fans one more reason to talk about Luka Doncic’s MVP chances. The $12.5 billion deal brings Bob Iger into the picture, adding an unexpected twist to a question that has followed Doncic for years.
Doncic had the numbers to make the debate interesting again. He won his second scoring title while averaging 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds over 64 games, helping Los Angeles finish 53-29 and earn the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
But Dončić received zero first-place votes and finished fourth behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama. That is where the new ownership twist comes in: with Iger serving as Disney’s CEO and Disney controlling 80% of ESPN, some Lakers fans have started joking that the new owner’s media ties could somehow change the MVP conversation around Dončić. Zach Lowe offered a much simpler explanation, saying, “He just hasn’t had the regular season of regular seasons yet.”
Lakers new owner Bob is on Disney’s board of directors, and Disney owns 80% of ESPN, Media votes for MVP this year might go in Lukas favor.
Doncic’s 2023-24 season remains the clearest example of how strong his MVP case can look. He averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists, won the scoring title and finished third in MVP voting with four first-place votes. In 2025-26, however, Doncic played 64 games after missing time for the birth of his daughter and an April 2 hamstring strain.
The 64-game total could have kept Doncic off the MVP ballot altogether because the NBA’s rule requires 65 games for major award eligibility. The NBA and NBPA approved an Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge, however, restoring his eligibility. The decision only allowed Doncic to be considered; it did not affect where voters ultimately placed him.
The Lakers’ record $12.5 billion sale is where the internet found its opening. Iger’s Lakers investment is a personal venture with Josh Kushner and sits outside Disney’s corporate structure, meaning the ownership deal gives Iger no formal role in NBA award voting or ESPN’s editorial decisions.
Lowe also described Dončić as someone with “an answer for every defense you can throw at him.”
Dončić finished fourth in 2025-26 after placing third in 2023-24, fifth in 2021-22, sixth in 2020-21 and eighth in 2022-23. His strongest MVP finish came in 2023-24, when Dallas won 50 games and he averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists.
Lakers Fans Turn Iger’s ESPN Ties Into a Luka MVP Theory
The theory took off online after the Lakers’ ownership news broke. Fans connected Iger’s Disney background to ESPN and then took the joke one step further, imagining that the new ownership group could somehow help change Doncic’s MVP fortunes.
“Why are you leaking the script?” one fan joked.
The joke has one major problem, though: the NBA’s 100-member awards panel is selected independently by NBA Communications, while ballots are independently tabulated by Ernst & Young. ESPN journalists make up only about 10 to 15 voters, and there is no documented evidence that Disney, ESPN executives or NBA team owners have influenced MVP voting.
“Luka has gotten robbed out of an MVP twice now, so it’s fair,” another fan wrote. The numbers explain why the frustration exists. Doncic has now finished third or better once and fourth or better twice, but his 2025-26 finish was especially strange because he scored 33.5 points per game and still received no first-place votes.
“That MVP is ours,” another Lakers fan wrote. Another simply predicted, “Top 3.”
Dončić’s path to the award is also becoming clearer. The research points to team success as his biggest remaining hurdle, with analysts viewing a 55-win season and a top-two seed in the West as the kind of team result that could strengthen his case. Early 2026-27 MVP odds have Dončić among the frontrunners at +400.
Still, the voting history shows why the debate is not as simple as points per game. Oklahoma City won 64 games, San Antonio won 62, and Denver won 54, while the Lakers finished with 53. Voters also placed heavy weight on defensive impact, which helped Gilgeous-Alexander and Wembanyama stay ahead of Doncic.
One fan pushed back on the entire theory, writing, “Man, what, the MVP will be whoever the best player is in the league.”
That may be the simplest answer. There is no evidence that Iger’s arrival can change the MVP vote, while the 2025-26 results show voters had clear reasons for putting Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokić and Wembanyama ahead of Doncic.
Iger’s arrival does not give Doncic any special path to the MVP, and the research offers no evidence that ESPN or Disney has influenced the voting. But the timing has given Lakers fans a new reason to joke about a question that has followed Doncic for years. If he can turn another huge statistical season into 55 or more Lakers wins and a top-two seed, the MVP conversation could finally look very different.