A Big Congratulations: Luka Doncic has been awarded the NBA best player of the week….
In Luka Doncic’s very first game against the Sacramento Kings—one of the teams that passed on him in the 2018 draft—he finished with 28 points, nine assists, and six rebounds.
Afterward, Sacramento coach Dave Joerger essentially subtweeted his own front office: “Perhaps there was an idea that there was a ceiling on him. I don’t see it, unfortunately for us.”
Even as the Kings finally start to turn the corner toward respectability with young talents like Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox, there aren’t any words to accurately describe how detrimental that draft night was for the franchise, which infamously chose Marvin Bagley III instead.
Last year, Sacramento sat home for the 16th straight postseason, while Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks to the Western Conference finals.
Sacramento’s skepticism about how good Luka ultimately could be looks comical now.
At 23 years old, he is an elite offense unto himself, a perennial MVP candidate who will eventually be seen as the best player alive and one of the greatest players in NBA history. Coming off three straight first-team All-NBA appearances, Doncic was the favorite to win Most Valuable Player coming into this season and he currently holds the best odds. Surface level, what he’s doing is more or less what people thought he would.
But Doncic also deserves serious consideration for another award, one that captures just how remarkably proficient his fifth season has been, even relative to the first four remarkably proficient seasons of his career: Most Improved Player.