Mavs' Luka Dončić Downplays NBA MVP Award Buzz: 'I'm Happy We're Winning'

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić doesn't intend to lobby on his own behalf in the NBA MVP race.

The five-time MVP told The Athletic's Sam Amick he "can't answer" for whether what's shaping up to be an unsuccessful award bid can turn in his favor.

"That's for the media," he said. "I'm happy we're winning, man. That's it. You know I'm not going to answer that question."

In a straw poll conducted by ESPN's Tim Bontemps in February, the Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokić was comfortably in first place with 69 of the 100 votes. Dončić was down in fourth with three first-place votes.

The exercise is traditionally a good barometer for how the voting panel is evaluating the MVP candidates. Once Bontemps publishes his midseason poll, some consider the final outcome to be a fait accompli.

Dončić has the individual numbers to warrant MVP consideration. He's the NBA's leading scorer at 34.0 points per game while averaging 9.1 rebounds and 9.8 assists. The 25-year-old is enjoying his most efficient shooting season as well with his effective field-goal (57.3) and true shooting (61.7) percentages on pace to be personal highs, per Basketball Reference.

The Mavericks' record could be the biggest road block in Dončić's MVP candidacy. Even with their current seven-game winning streak, they're fifth in the Western Conference at 45-29.

When it comes to the MVP award, it will be tough for Dončić to overtake Jokić or the Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander when Dallas is almost certainly going to finish below both Denver and OKC.

Dončić seems to know there's only so much he can do to win hearts and minds at such a late juncture of the campaign.