Another roadblock in Luka Doncic’s MVP pursuit, but online backlash saved the day! A wave of call-outs on contradictory views on the guard’s MVP position forced the veteran analyst Rachel Nichols into damage-control mode, making a wild confession about the MVP voting system.

A fan shared a clip from the season’s initial phase, where Nichols raved about Luka’s defense, calling it “solid.” And called her out for ruling the Slovenian out of the MVP contention on the basis of defensive inconsistency, saying, “You have to play both sides of the ball for 8 months.”

In her 4-point reply to the fan’s callout for contradiction, Rachel Nichols made a strong confession. “MVP voting can be frustrating because the criteria is so broad that what gets a guy elected one year wouldn’t get him elected another year. I’ve lobbied for a long time for the NBA to overhaul its award system the way, say, the NFL has.” Nichols didn’t just address the single criticism; instead exposed a deeper flaw in the MVP voting system.

Unlike the NFL, which relies on 50 single-choice votes, the NBA employs a 100-voter ranked system (1-5), a structure that can dilute consensus and produce tighter MVP races. Now that Nichols has sown the seeds, it’s only fair to wait to see whether this issue catches fire.

Moving on to another point, she had once again contradicted herself. After entirely ruling Luka Doncic out of MVP contention on her latest podcast with Chris Mannix, she started off her reply with, “I still think Luka’s in the conversation and in fact have him ranked higher on my current MVP ballot than the majority of my peers.” While it’s difficult to reconcile the two positions, the mixed messaging only leaves Doncic’s MVP chances hanging in uncertainty.

Moreover, the 52-year-old analyst doubled down on her praise for Luka. Predicting a better defense for the postseason, saying, “Luka’s defense is annually underrated in the playoffs.” In fact, the numbers add up to her claims. Luka has a better playoff defense rating of 111.5 than his current season rating (113.4).

Nevertheless, in response to the full-blown backlash, Nichols did have a sweet message to the fans. “Fan bases can get crazy sometimes over players they love, and I actually really dig that. Passion is what makes sports fun.”

Anyway, where does Luka Doncic truly stand with his MVP contention?

Can Luka Doncic pull off a miracle?

Importantly, it wasn’t just Rachel Nichols who considered Luka’s defense as an isolated surge in March. Jason Timpf, on his account, said, “MVP is a season-long award, it’s not who played the best defense in March.” However, the numbers tell a different story, as the 27-year-old became only the 11th player to grab 100 steals this season. And he has drastically improved on the isolation games, allowing 0.844 points in 109 one-on-ones in March alone.

If Luka Doncic continues to rack up his defense numbers on the remainder of the schedule, he might have a chance. Considering the fact that he has already covered the offensive as scoring champion with an almost triple-double average. 33.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, and 8.2 apg.

At the same time, he can opt for the route that Victor Wembanyama took. The LA Lakers guard can self-advocate his MVP case at the press, stating the stats himself. However, with only 6 games left in the season and a tough chance to advance to the second seed, Luka’s chance at MVP remains bleak.