Luka Doncic, believe it or not, is already preparing for his seventh NBA season.

Maybe even more surprising, the Dallas Mavericks superstar — a multiple-time All-Star and All-NBA player who led his team to the NBA Finals last season — is still waiting on his first NBA Most Valuable Player Award to add to the many accolades of his stellar career.

Well, according to a recent ESPN survey, the wait could be coming to an end sooner rather than later.

ESPN asked what it described as its “Summer Forecast panel” — a group of NBA experts, including reporters, editors and analysts — to rank its top three choices for the NBA’s six major awards, and Doncic was the top choice to win MVP for the 2024-25 season.

A first-place vote received five points, while second-place votes received three and a third-place vote received one in the survey.

Doncic (61 points) earned 48% of the poll’s first-place votes, leading reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver (40 points, 10%) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Oklahoma City (37 points, 24%).

Last season, Doncic became the first player in NBA history to average at least 33 points (a league-leading 33.9), nine assists (9.8, second in the NBA) and nine rebounds (9.2). He had the highest average of combined points, rebounds and assists (52.9) since the 1971-72 season MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 56.0.

He also led the league in 30-point triple-doubles (16), 35-point triple-doubles (11), 40-point triple-doubles (two) and produced the season’s best singular performance by dropping 73 points on Atlanta.

Even a taste of the statistical stratospheres Doncic achieved a season ago should have him right back in the mix for the MVP crown in 2024-25.

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