If you want to know why the smartest bet you can place in the NBA preseason is Luka Doncic to win MVP (+500), all you need to do is check out the man’s Instagram page from this offseason.
We have an in-shape, lean Luka Doncic on our hands now. And he’s engaged to be married and is in love.
Now that he has his personal life and physical fitness in order, the sky is the limit. Nothing is stopping #77 from bringing home his first MVP.
Photo: —We all know the Mavericks missed the playoffs last year with a disappointing 38-44 record. They were the subject of much criticism for how they handled games at the end of the season. I genuinely believe the downtime this summer could be a blessing in disguise for the whole organization, but more so for Doncic. This is a guy that led the team to a Western Conference Finals appearance just a year ago. A year before that, in 2021, he put team Slovenia on his back in the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Slovenia finished 4th place, but it felt a lot bigger than that for a country with only 2 million people.
There were some incredible performances and a heartbreaking loss to team France that showed a lot of people why Doncic might be the best player in the world. He has been grinding hard the last few summers, and there are reasons for optimism about Doncic and the Mavs this season, despite how tragic the previous season was.
Photo: —Even though he can do things with a basketball-only some of us can dream of, Luka is just like us. He loves food, and he loves to eat. Being as good as he was at an early age in a new country, you can sort of understand why Luka has had to play himself into shape over the years. That won’t be the case this year.
Our guy went out and got himself a personal nutritionist. His 6’7″ 230 lbs frame makes him such a versatile player, but there’s no doubt he has been a bit heavier than you want your team leader to be.
He would probably be the first one to tell you that. All the great NBA players of the past always use the summer to get better at something, and I think it will be a defense for Luka in 2023-2024. Doncic, as the team leader, must come in and set the tone at training camp that defense will be a priority. We know what he’s capable of on the offensive end.
There’s also the Kyrie factor. If the Mavs win 50+ games, look improved on the defensive end, and there isn’t much drama surrounding the mercurial Kyrie Irving, voters will pay attention, and Doncic will get a ton of credit. The front office went and did about all they could to improve the team with the limited assets they had. Luka has been the MVP preseason favorite off and on since his 3rd season in the Association.
Now that Embiid has his, Jokic has 2, Giannis has 2, Steph has 2, it’s only natural for the Wonderboy to bring home his first in 2024.
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J. I. Johnson
August 10, 2023 at 4:06 pm
Good first-time blog. Keep it up …
Drew
August 10, 2023 at 5:15 pm
Luka has been everything you could imagine from a fan perspective. It’s on the front office to not mess it up. They need to make smart moves and set this Macs team up for a long window of championships