The Los Angeles Lakers are having a strong season. They sit as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 50-26 record. They have also locked down a playoff spot. Luka Dončić has been the engine behind all of it.
Still, despite everything he is doing, the MVP conversation around him has been one of the most confusing storylines of the season. Now, a former NBA champion has stepped into that conversation.
Iman Shumpert Weighs In on Luka Dončić’s MVP Case
Just five days ago, former NBA champion Iman Shumpert made headlines by writing off the Lakers entirely. On his podcast “Shump Street,” Shumpert said plainly that the Lakers are not going past the second round of the playoffs even with Dončić on the team.
“I keep telling y’all they’re not going past the second round. I don’t know how many shows I’ve been on with ESPN saying that. Whatever they do past the first round, bravo.”
“I’m happy for them, but we are not expecting the Lakers to do anything beyond the second round, if that. I didn’t think they’d be at the top of the West with these other teams right now, but crazier things have happened,” Shumpert said.
But now Shumpert has walked some of that back.
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In a recent “Get Up” segment on ESPN, Shumpert acknowledged that it is strange to see Dončić falling in the MVP rankings, given what he is putting up night after night and how the Lakers as a team have been performing.
“It’s actually starting to bother me that I haven’t been talking about him more when we start talking about the MVP discussion, because when you think of the Lakers, there’s no night that you feel like they can really come out here and compete if Luka is not suited up. So, my bad for that, Luka, ‘cause you have been doing a great job. Especially in this month,” Shumpert said on ESPN.
This shift in his opinion came shortly after a historic stretch by Dončić. In March, he became the first player in NBA history to record over 500 points, 35 steals, and 50 three-pointers in a single month
Yet, despite all that, the latest Kia MVP Ladder has the Slovenian star sitting fourth, and even Dončić himself has noticed.
“Yeah, hopefully, but the better I play, the more I go down in ratings, so I don’t know what more I can do,” Dončić said regarding his ranking.
So who is ahead of him? Victor Wembanyama has climbed to the top of the ladder. Wembanyama is averaging 24.5 points per game, which is solid but simply not in the same tier as Dončić, who is averaging 33.8 PPG.
Where Wembanyama genuinely creates separation is on defense. He leads the NBA with 3.07 blocks per game, and that two-way impact has become a central theme in the MVP debate. Dončić has never been known as a stopper, and that gap in defensive output is clearly influencing how voters are thinking about this award.
In second place is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 31.6 points per game but still trails Dončić in the scoring column. Third is Nikola Jokić at 27.7 points per game.
But Jokić brings something different to the table. He is leading the league in rebounding at 12.95 per game and in assists at 10.8 per game.
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The reason Dončić keeps sliding in the rankings is not entirely clear, but the most logical explanation is that MVP voting has never been purely about scoring. Defense and overall impact all factor in.
Dončić has the best offensive numbers in the race, but the voters seem to be weighing the full picture, and his defensive footprint remains a sticking point for many. Whether the Lakers’ star climbs back up in the final stretch of the regular season remains to be seen.
