The NBA announced the MVP finalists for the 2025-26 season, which were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. That means Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic did not finish in the top three despite his stellar season in purple and gold.
This doesn’t come as a huge surprise as Doncic’s MVP case lost some steam after he suffered a left hamstring strain that marked the end of his regular season.
Doncic wound up playing 64 games in the regular season, which is one shy of the 65 games it takes to qualify for NBA awards. He filed an Extraordinary Circumstances appeal, however, and that was accepted to make him eligible. Considering he did not finish in the top three for MVP, he will likely come in fourth behind the three finalists who also had outstanding seasons in their own right.
During the 2025-26 season, Doncic led the league in scoring at 33.5 points to go along with 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 47.6% from the field and 36.6% from 3-point range. He was the only player in the West with multiple Player of the Month honors, including March when he was looking like the MVP favorite while leading the Lakers to a 15-2 record.
All that momentum came to a halt when he suffered the injury, of course, but not being named an MVP finalist doesn’t take away from his season. Doncic will likely be recognized as an All-NBA First Team member for the sixth time in his career when that gets announced in the coming weeks.
Luka Doncic grateful for NBA ruling
Doncic applied for an exemption for be eligible for NBA awards despite only playing in 64 regular-season games. He missed two games in December for the berth of his daughter, which is why he got approved, and he expressed his appreciation to the league, NBPA and his team for the decision.
“I am grateful to the NBPA for advocating on my behalf and to the NBA for their fair decision,” Doncic wrote in a statement. “It was so important to me to be present for the birth of my daughter in December and I appreciate Mark, Jeanie, Rob, JJ, and the entire Lakers organization for fully supporting me and allowing me to travel to be there. This season has been so special to me because of what my teammates and I have been able to accomplish, and I am honored to have the opportunity to be considered for the league’s end-of-season awards.”
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