Did the NBA Really Snub Luka Doncic for MVP? Breaking Down the 2023-24 Race

The debate over Luka Doncic’s MVP candidacy in the 2023-24 NBA season has ignited passionate discussions across social media, with some fans claiming the Dallas Mavericks star was robbed of the league’s most prestigious individual honor. An Instagram post circulating in Spanish questioned whether the NBA had “sold” the idea that three players were better than Doncic this year, labeling it a potential “robbery of the decade.” To assess these claims fairly, we must look beyond emotion and examine the verified facts of the race, the voting process, and what ultimately determined Nikola Jokic’s third MVP award.

Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets was named the 2023-24 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player on May 8, 2024, receiving 91 first-place votes and a total of 1,028 points in the voting conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder finished second with 582 points, while Luka Doncic placed third with 468 points. Jokic became the first player since Larry Bird in the mid-1980s to win three MVPs in four seasons, joining an elite group that includes Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James.

What the Numbers Actually Show

Doncic’s case for MVP was undeniably strong. He led the NBA in scoring with 33.9 points per game, becoming the first player to average at least 32 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists per game in a single season since Oscar Robertson in 1964-65. His usage rate of 41.7% was the highest in the league, reflecting the Mavericks’ heavy reliance on his playmaking and scoring. Dallas finished 50-32, securing the fifth seed in the Western Conference and advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2011.

Yet Jokic’s Nuggets posted the best record in the NBA at 57-25, earning the top seed in the West. Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game while shooting 63.2% from the field — the highest field-goal percentage ever recorded by a player averaging at least 25 points per game. His impact extended beyond traditional stats: Denver’s net rating was +12.4 with Jokic on the court, compared to -2.1 when he sat, according to NBA.com’s advanced tracking data.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise was fueled by the Thunder’s remarkable transformation. Oklahoma City improved from a 40-42 record in 2022-23 to 57-25 in 2023-24, the second-best turnaround in the league. SGA averaged 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists while leading the NBA in free-throw attempts and maintaining elite efficiency. The Thunder’s defense ranked third in the league, a direct reflection of his two-way impact.

How MVP Voting Actually Works

The NBA MVP award is not determined by a single metric or highlight reel. Voters — comprising 100 members of the global sports media — evaluate players based on a combination of individual excellence, team success, narrative impact, and overall value to their franchise. There is no official formula, but historical precedent shows that voters consistently prioritize team record when comparing elite performers.

In the last 15 MVP races, the winner has had the best or second-best record in their conference 13 times. Jokic’s Nuggets had the league’s best record; Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder had the second-best record in the West; Doncic’s Mavericks, while impressive, had the fifth-best record in the conference. This context matters: voters often view team success as a proxy for a player’s ability to elevate those around them, especially when comparing stars with similar individual outputs.

Jokic became the first center to win three MVPs since Moses Malone in the early 1980s, a fact that resonates with voters who value positional rarity and sustained dominance. His ability to facilitate offense as a 7-foot playmaker — recording at least 10 assists in 17 games — remains unparalleled in NBA history for a player of his size.

Why the “Robbery” Narrative Misses the Mark

The suggestion that the NBA “sold” the idea of three better players than Doncic misunderstands how the award functions. The league does not dictate MVP outcomes; it merely administers the vote. The perception of a snub often arises when fans conflate spectacular individual statistics with automatic MVP consideration, overlooking the holistic criteria voters apply.

Doncic’s season was historic — no one denies that. But so were Jokic’s and SGA’s. Jokic became the first player in NBA history to record multiple 50-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist games in a single season. SGA joined Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson as the only players since 1976 to average at least 30 points while shooting 50% or better from the field and 40% or better from three-point range. Each candidate presented a compelling, mutually exclusive case.

the Mavericks’ playoff run — while impressive — ended in a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, a series in which Doncic averaged 31.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists but shot just 38.5% from the field. Voters typically weigh regular-season performance more heavily than postseason results, but the inability to advance past a defensively disciplined Minnesota team may have reinforced concerns about Dallas’ reliance on isolation plays in high-leverage moments.

What This Means Moving Forward

For Doncic, the third-place finish serves as both validation and motivation. At 25 years old, he has now finished in the top three of MVP voting in two of his first five seasons. With Kyrie Irving entrenched as his co-star and the Mavericks poised to remain contenders, future MVP races will likely hinge on whether Dallas can elevate its regular-season standing — ideally securing a top-two seed in the West — while Doncic maintains his elite production.

The Nuggets, meanwhile, face the challenge of repeating as champions amid roster turnover and the physical toll of Jokic’s unprecedented workload. His ability to stay healthy and efficient will be critical as Denver aims to turn into the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

The MVP debate will always invite subjectivity — that’s part of what makes it compelling. But labeling Doncic’s third-place finish a “robbery” ignores the breadth of excellence displayed by Jokic and SGA, as well as the structured, albeit nuanced, process by which the award is decided. For now, the next checkpoint is the 2024-25 NBA season, which begins in October. How Doncic responds — both individually and as a leader of a Mavericks team aiming higher — will shape the next chapter of this ongoing conversation.

What do you think? Was Jokic’s third MVP justified, or should Doncic have taken it? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to spread the conversation on social media.