Dallas (dpa) – Luka Doncic could be the first basketball professional from the Dallas Mavericks since Dirk Nowitzki to be named the most valuable player in the North American professional league NBA.
The 25-year-old Slovenian is one of three nominees for the coveted NBA individual trophy, as the league announced in a broadcast on the TV channel TNT on Monday night. In addition to Doncic, the Serbian Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) and the Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from the Oklahoma City Thunder are also nominated.
A total of 100 journalists choose the most valuable player of the season. Last year, Jokic finished second behind Joel Embiid from the Philadelphia 76ers. Jokic had previously won the trophy in 2021 and 2022. Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander would triumph for the first time. The decisions for all awards will be announced during TV broadcasts over the next few weeks.
The basketball star Nowitzki, who left in 2019, is considered a kind of mentor for Doncic. The duo even played together for another season. The Würzburg native recently spoke about his successor in Dallas on the show “NBA Unplugged with Kevin Hart”: “He can do everything, he has the complete package. Every year I say: This boy can’t possibly get better. And then he comes the next year Year actually comes back with more in his repertoire.” Nowitzki initially joked: “Man, I’m so angry. He’s breaking all of my records.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240422-99-762428/2
2024-04-22 08:11:56
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