Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic leads the NBA with 33.7 points per game. Photo by Caroline Brehman/EPA-EFE
J.J. Redick believes Luka Doncic should win NBA MVP honors if the Los Angeles Lakers continue their hot streak, the coach told reporters.
Redick made the comments after the Lakers beat the Washington Wizards 120-101 on Monday in Los Angeles. Doncic did not play due to the one-game ban he received for getting his 16th technical foul of the season.
“He’s the engine that’s driving all of our winning,” Redick said at his postgame news conference. “Certainly, we have a ton of guys starring in their roles, but he’s the driver.”
Doncic averaged an NBA- and career-high 33.7 points per game through his first 62 starts for the Lakers this season. He also logged 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Doncic leads the NBA in field goals (10.9), field goal attempts (22.9), made 3-point shots (4.0) and 3-point attempts (10.9) and free throw attempts (10.1) per game in 2025-26.
The six-time All-Star, who is averaging 5.5 more points per game than he did last season, averaged 40.7 points per game over his last nine appearances, including a 60-point effort in a March 19 win over the Miami Heat.
The Lakers, who were 34-24 and sat in sixth place in the Western Conference on Feb. 26, won 15 of their next 17 games. They now own a 49-26 mark and are up to third place in the standings.
“I think when we started 15-4, you could have made an argument that he was the MVP then,” Redick said. “Well, he’s been the MVP for two of the three segments of the season.”
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic are among the other MVP front-runners.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP, ranks second in the league with 31.6 points per game. He also averaged a career-high 6.5 assists, with 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game through his first 64 appearances for the NBA-best Thunder (60-16).
Wembanyama averaged a career-best 24.5 points and 11.4 rebounds, with 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals and an NBA-best 3.1 blocks per game through 60 appearances. His Spurs (57-18) sit in second place, behind the Thunder and ahead of the third-place Lakers in the Western Conference standings.
Jokic averaged 27.9 points and leads the NBA with 12.9 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game. He also logged 1.4 steals per appearance through his first 60 starts. His Nuggets (48-26) sit in fourth place, 1.5 games behind the Lakers.
“If we continue to finish the season the way we’re playing right now, and he continues to play that way, to me, he is the MVP,” Redick said.
The Lakers will host the Cleveland Cavaliers at 10:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday in Los Angeles. They will meet the Thunder on Thursday in Oklahoma City.
