Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers are off to a strong start in the post-LeBron James era, sitting undefeated (3-0), with the superstar guard coming off an NBA season-high 52-point eruption against the Utah Jazz.
Still, Golden State Warriors veteran forward Draymond Green remains unconvinced that the two-time NBA scoring champion can capture his first MVP despite his eye-popping stats.
Draymond Green Believes MVP Voters Have Moved on From Luka Dončić
Green doubled down on his stance during Monday’s episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” pointing to how Dončić is perceived in Year 9.
“I still don’t think there’s any chance that he’s going to win MVP because the moment he has a few bad games or an injury that costs him a couple games, people are going to flip back on him. ‘Oh, same Luka.’ Right? And that’s just my opinion,” Green said.
“I think people get bored with greatness. I think Luka’s been doing great things for a very long time now, and I think they’re going to stay bored with it.”
The four-time NBA champion continued to explain how voter fatigue will be an obstacle for Dončić:
“He’s in Year 9, and the people who vote, they’ve already moved on. Hopefully, for his sake, he can go beat that out. But I stand by what I said. Voters get fatigued with seeing you be great over and over again, and if you haven’t jumped that threshold of the MVP-great, then they move on, and they’ve moved on. … But not because of his play, as I said from the gate. It’s just the way it goes.”
Those remarks came one day after Dončić’s sensational outing in Salt Lake City. The Lakers trailed 47-29 after the first quarter, then outscored the Jazz 103-76 the rest of the way to win 132-123.
The Slovenian megastar shot 17-for-30 (56.7%), including 8-for-18 from deep (44.4%), and went 10-for-11 at the free-throw line (90.9%) while adding 8 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 steals.
Dončić led the league in scoring last season (33.5 points per game) but finished fourth in MVP voting without a single first-place vote after an injury cut his campaign short. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his second straight MVP award, and Nikola Jokić edged out Victor Wembanyama for second.
Green made his initial MVP prediction on his podcast last week, noting that people have become accustomed to Dončić averaging 30-plus ppg:
“Luka will never win an MVP in the NBA. This is the last possible year he can win it. Because if Luka could go average 34 points a game, they’re going to be like, ‘Oh yeah, of course Luka averaged 34 points a game.'”
Through three outings, Dončić is averaging 34.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.0 assists on sturdy 46.4/39.5/88.9 shooting splits.
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Notably, Green predicted that Jalen Brunson would take home his first MVP award:
“I’m going to go with Jalen Brunson. He’s the type of dude that’s convinced himself all summer that, like, ‘They don’t respect me, and I won a championship, and they still don’t respect me.'”
The New York Knicks have since stumbled to an 0-3 start, raising concerns about a prolonged championship hangover.
The Lakers will likely have to finish near the top of the league standings for Dončić to improve on his career-best third-place MVP finish, with questions about his defense sure to persist.
LA (3-0) hosts the Portland Trail Blazers (2-0) on Tuesday, marking a tough test against an opponent that has impressed early on.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.