15 games of 40+ points? While that’s monumental for Luka Doncic, it might not be enough for him to bag the MVP award. At least, that’s what Jason Timpf said.

Doncic dropped two spots in NBA.com’s latest MVP Ladder last week, falling from second to fourth despite averaging nearly 40 points over his last 11 games. Victor Wembanyama leapfrogged him into the top spot, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic also ahead. This demotion sent the Los Angeles Lakers fans into a frenzy. And right after this came Timpf’s MVP prediction.

“Luka has zero shot to win the MVP this year. The team is playing way better on that end (defensive) and Luka has been a big part of that solution and he’s up to scoring volume and efficiency and he’s turning the ball over less that’s why he might be the best player in the world right now but MVP is a season-long award it’s not who played the best defense in March,” he said.

Sadly, the comment comes at a time of year when MVP-caliber players make their final push for the prize. In the case of Victor Wembanyama, he literally advocated for himself in front of the press. The Slovenian star, on his part, put up a show on both ends of the court.

The 27-year-old elevated his defensive game in March, but he has been driving the Lakers’ offense on an MVP-caliber level throughout the season. However, lack of defensive prowess remained the only drawback in his NBA career, especially the scenes from the 2024 NBA Finals with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum driving past him.

But things seemed to have improved a lot. Luka Magic became the first Laker since Kobe Bryant in 2012-13 to average 30+ ppg and 100 steals in a season. Also, he was only the 11th player this season to make 100 steals.

In the last 11 games, he has averaged 2.5 steals per game. And in isolation battles, he allowed only 0.844 points in 109 one-on-ones. Compared to his defensive reports as of early February, something definitely seemed to have flipped the switch. Before March, Luka allowed blow-bys 41% of his drives, which was fourth-worst among the eligible players in the league and ranked 109th in effective FG% on contests.

Further, the teams are rebounding their own misses 30.1% of the time when Doncic is on the bench, compared to just 27.1% when he’s on the court. That may not seem like a big distinction, but in reality, it plays a big part when it comes to team ranking.

Nevertheless, the important point to note here is that Luka Doncic not only surged in March but also put the Lakers on the third seed above Nikola Jokić‘s Nuggets. This could force the MVP voters to reconsider, as the race remains far from settled!

Can Luka Doncic win MVP from here?

Notably, Luka Doncic didn’t jump into the MVP conversation out of nowhere. For most of the season, he spent his time in second and third spots on the MVP ladder. And the Lakers’ inconsistency on the winning front didn’t really help them to top the ladder, as injuries and rotations troubled their rhythm.

However, that’s not the case anymore.

Luka has elevated his game on both ends, averaging 37.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 7.1 assists in March, and the Lakers are on a 14-2 run. From here on, the team’s goal should focus on sealing the third seed ahead of the Nuggets.

With 7 games left in the regular season, excluding tonight’s game against the Wizards, Luka & Co. should carry their momentum till the end, so that the critics can’t write off Luka’s run as an isolated surge in March. If not for anyone, JJ Redick has hopes resting on Luka. Speaking of his improved defense, JJ said:

“When he’s fully on defensively, he can guard the basketball. We’ve seen him do it against everybody in this league. We trust him.”

Apart from his coach vouching for him, he could also take Wembanyama’s route, which is addressing the media and self-advocating. It has vastly changed the gears for the French big, as he secured the top spot on the ladder.