Lakers' JJ Redick Campaigns for Luka Doncic to Win NBA MVP Award amid Race with SGA, Wemby, Jokic

Campaign season is going strong in the race to be NBA MVP, with Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick entering the fray by making a case for Luka Dončić to win the award.

Speaking to reporters prior to Monday's game against the Washington Wizards, Redick laid out an MVP argument for Dončić:

"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. ... I think when we started 15-4, you could have made an argument that he was the MVP then. Well, he's been the MVP for two of the three segments of the season."

Dončić has also gotten in on campaigning, arguing after Friday's win over the Brooklyn Nets that "the better I play the more I go down in ratings, so I don't know what more I can do."

There seems to be a four-player MVP hierarchy right now, with Dončić vying for the spotlight against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić.

From that group, Jokić is likely running in fourth given that the Denver Nuggets are currently behind the Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs in the standings. He has even admitted to being "a little bit inconsistent" since returning from a knee injury on Jan. 30 that kept him out for a month.

Wembanyama has been pushing extremely hard for the award, including recently calling out his impact on the defensive end of the court and because the Spurs "dominated" the Thunder in three games when OKC was at full strength.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP and presumptive frontrunner right now, is quietly going about his business for a Thunder team that's on track to have the NBA's best record for a second consecutive year.

Dončić's argument includes leading the NBA in scoring average (33.7 points per game), being one of only three players averaging at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists and having 15 games with at least 40 points, five more than any other player.

The Lakers are also holding on to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 49-26 record after defeating the Wizards on Monday. They are 15-2 in their last 17 games, a stretch that includes wins over the Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets (twice).

"He's the engine that's driving all of our winning," Redick said as part of his case for Dončić. "Certainly, we have a ton of guys starring in their roles, but he's the driver."

Now in his eighth NBA season, Dončić finished top eight in MVP voting in five consecutive years from 2019-20 to 2023-24. His best finish was third in 2023-24, coming in behind Jokić and Gilgeous-Alexander.