With news that the Dallas Mavericks superstar will miss a month with a calf strain, his injury will have a major impact on the race for MVP.
He was behind Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic, Milwaukee Bucks two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. However, Doncic's team is considered to be a contender to make it back to the NBA Finals. Even so, his absence could have major ripple effects and put attention on another MVP candidate.
Doncic's injury could open the door for Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. Tatum has been largely absent from the MVP discussion, but he is averaging an outstanding 29 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 5.6 assists.
While many expected that he would split MVP votes with his teammate Jaylen Brown, who won NBA Finals MVP over him last season, Tatum has been the better player of the two. The fact that Doncic's injury could open the door for Tatum to make an MVP push is ironic considering that Doncic lost to Tatum and the Celtics last season in the Finals.
Jayson Tatum's odds of earning a big honor just jumped after Luka Doncic's injury news.
If it's any consolation to Doncic, Tatum would have to make up major ground with the MVP conversation centered around Jokic and Giannis. Both players have won at least two MVP awards, with Giannis last winning in 2017. Normally, once stars win two MVPs, voters tend to move on to the next big thing, but his play this season has capped an outrageous six-year span in which he's put up truly historic numbers.
He's averaged a terrific 29.5 points, 12 rebounds, and 5.5 assists over that span but is averaging 32.7 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 6 assists this season. Not only that, but he is leading the league in scoring and has already won an NBA Cup and NBA Cup MVP award this season.
Meanwhile, Jokic is averaging a triple-double and putting his three previous MVP seasons to shame with his play this year. Gilgeous-Alexander has the lowest profile of any of the players in the top five on NBA.com’s MVP ladder but is averaging more than 30 points per game for the third straight season and has transformed the Thunder into a contender.
Of course, Tatum's numbers aren't anything to sneeze at, and the Celtics have a better record than the Bucks and Nuggets and are only slightly behind the Thunder in that regard. If the Celtics can catch the Thunder, and better yet, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are only four games up on Boston, then Tatum could go from an outside candidate for MVP to a frontrunner.