The NBA revealed its 2026 MVP on Sunday morning, and the results were surprising.
While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander snagging the title for the second consecutive year wasn’t the shocker, it was about Luka Doncic finishing fourth without any first-place votes that caught attention.
Yes, you read that right—zero votes.
The superstar from the Los Angeles Lakers wasn’t really expected to win, but he did end up being the league’s top scorer this season with an impressive average of 33.5 points per game, alongside two Player of the Month awards.
Breaking down the voting, Nikola Jokic claimed second place with 10 first-place votes, while Victor Wembanyama came in third with five. Doncic was fourth, securing one second-place vote, eight third-place votes, 60 fourth-place votes, and 23 fifth-place votes from a panel of 100 media members globally. Cade Cunningham rounded out the top five.
Doncic’s stats were remarkable—averaging 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, he played a crucial role in leading the Lakers to a fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Lakers fans were quick to express their discontent online, highlighting the fact that Doncic failed to earn a single first-place vote.
It’s worth noting that the Lakers haven’t celebrated a major individual award winner since Lamar Odom took home the Sixth Man of the Year title back in 2011. The last MVP from the Lakers was Kobe Bryant in 2008.
Doncic’s impressive achievements included leading the league in multiple categories such as total points, points per game, and usage rate, among others. He also ranked well in assists and steals.
On a different note, Doncic is reportedly planning to head back to Slovenia on Sunday to continue recovering from a Grade 2 hamstring injury.
