When predicting major award winners before the season, ESPN did not pick Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic to win the MVP during the 2025-26 NBA season.
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Doncic, who is much slimmer down and gearing up for his first full season with the Lakers, finished second in predicted MVP voting from a panel of NBA experts.
ESPN predicted Nikola Jokić, center for the Denver Nuggets, to capture his fourth MVP award.
The MVP has eluded Doncic for a couple of seasons now, finishing in the top five of voting three times.
During the 2023-24 season, when the Dallas Mavericks made the NBA Finals, Doncic finished third in voting for the MVP.
ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne provided further details on the voting results.
“Either voter fatigue wears off quickly, or voters were very impressed by Nikola Jokic’s head-to-head battle with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the second round of the 2025 playoffs,” Shelburne wrote in ESPN’s story.
“The three-time MVP came in as a heavy favorite to win for a fourth time in our preseason survey, almost doubling the votes for SGA to repeat.
“Voters also seemed to be impressed by Luka Doncic’s offseason transformation as the svelte version of the Los Angeles Lakers point guard came in second in early voting.
“Team success always plays a factor in voting, which is probably why SGA has slipped to third here. In other words, he already elevated the Thunder to a championship level and was recognized as the MVP for doing it.
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Doncic only played 50 games last season, ruling him out of voting for major awards, but his season was not far off his previous production levels.
He averaged 28.2 points, 7.7 assists, and 8.2 rebounds per game in the regular season for both the Mavericks and Lakers last season. His numbers align with his career averages.
In his seven seasons of NBA play, he has made the All-NBA First Team and All-Star team every season except his rookie year and the most recent season where he didn’t qualify.
If Doncic puts together a full season of work — or close to it — he should be in line to fight for the award at the end of the season, especially if the Lakers have a strong campaign.
Doncic has an edge over Jokic in the voting as well — the Slovenian has not yet won the award, and voters tend to favor the new winner over giving it to a repeat winner.
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