“You can’t be 11th in the West and be in MVP conversation,” says NBA Analyst Kendrick Perkins regarding Luka Doncic

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has been superb this season. He has started the 2022-23 season with a bang and has been an MVP candidate for sometime now. While most people have Luka Doncic in their MVP conversation, former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins feels that the Mavericks star should not be in the MVP conversation. 

While the Slovenian guard has been brilliant and very fun to watch, his team has struggled to win games. Doncic has been sensational individually but the MVP committee always put into account the team performances and that is how it will be this season aswell. 

Perkins, while discussing the MVP candidates for him, removed the Mavs guard because of the team’s condition in the standings. Recently Perkins shared his thoughts on NBA Today where he reasons why Doncic does not deserve the MVP conversation. 

“I know Richard Jefferson is probably somewhere watching this right now. But he has been on my tail for the last couple of days about me not having Luka in my top-five MVP conversation. You go down to Detroit without Cade Cunningham and you lose this game last night,” Perkins stated. 

Perkins reasons how Luka Doncic is an unbelievable talent and there’s no hate between him and the Slovenian. However he feels that when one person is spoken in MVP conversation the player cannot be in the 11th position in the team standings. He clearly wants to paint a picture of how Doncic has not led his team to enough wins for the Mavericks despite being at his best. 

“See, here is the problem. I’m not hating on Luka. I think he is an unbelievable talent, he’s an awesome talent, he’s a showbox, he’s everything, and more. But when we talk about the MVP conversation, your record can’t be 10-11. You can’t be sitting at the No. 11 spot in the Western Conference,” he added. 

The MVP ladder has been going up and down but Luka Doncic has found himself there for sometime now. However Celtics star Jayson Tatum has taken over the top spot from him but there are plenty of chasers for the prestigious award. 

If Luka Doncic continues to play this way and the Dallas Mavericks improve and get into the top four in the Western Conference then there are chance for the Slovenian guard to get the trophy.