Last season, the Dallas Mavericks had their greatest season of the Luka Doncic era.
Despite hovering around play-in territory in January and February, the Mavs were able to put together a magical run down the stretch to grab the No. 5 seed and later reach the NBA Finals. Dallas' trades for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington undoubtedly helped give them the boost they needed to get back on track, but the play of Doncic was what really helped them dominate last season.
He averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, 9.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from downtown. Doncic's major improvement as a shooter, historical performances that included a 73-point game, league-leading 21 triple-doubles, and overall offensive mastery dazzled the NBA and helped the Mavs be as great as they were, but it still wasn't enough for Doncic to win MVP.
Doncic shockingly finished third in MVP voting, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic. While both Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander had incredible seasons, the NBA had never seen a season like Doncic had just had. Doncic won the scoring title, was the first player in NBA history to average 33 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists per game for a season, and set the NBA record for consecutive 30-point triple-doubles with six, but still, that wasn't enough.
MVP goalposts keep moving, and it's Doncic who pays the price
The voters seemed concerned that Doncic's team was the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference while Gilgeous-Alexander's and Jokic's teams were the No. 1 and 2 seeds respectively, and Doncic's run at the end of the season wasn't enough to warrant him an MVP in the voters' eyes.
While Doncic isn't having as great of a season this season as he did last year, the goalposts for MVP have seemed to have moved once again.
Despite being the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and his team having an extremely slow start to the season, Jokic is almost unanimously at the top of most MVP rankings right now. While his stats are excellent as he is averaging 31.0 points, 13.0 points, and 9.8 assists per game, the team's success has not been notable.
At one point this month, the Nuggets were the ninth seed in the Western Conference and sitting at 10-8. They've been better recently as now they're the No. 6 seed, but still, it doesn't change the fact that Denver isn't one of the top seeds in the Western Conference and Jokic seems to be the runaway MVP favorite right now.
This isn't to take away from Jokic's outstanding statistical season, as he seems to be dominating every single night, but it is to point out that the voters' criteria seem to have changed once again. Jokic isn't being docked at all for the lack of team success that Denver has had, while voters didn't even bat an eye at Doncic's historical season last year in which he nearly averaged a 34-point triple-double and his team won 50 games in a loaded Western Conference.
Jokic's Nuggets are on pace to win 45.92 games right now, nearly four games back from the season the Mavs had last season, and it still seems like he is most people's MVP right now. This isn't to say that Doncic should be the MVP right now, as he has had a plethora of injuries and didn't start the season strong, but Mavericks fans should be furious that MVP voters' minds continue to change when it comes to what they're looking for most.
Doncic's stats this season could end up being extremely similar to what we saw from Jokic last season, and even if he does get healthy and help the Mavs finish with a top seed, it doesn't even seem like he will get considered for this award.
Fans just want consistency with this award, and what has happened over the past few years has been miles away from that.
