Zach Lowe has outlined what it will take for Luka Doncic to win NBA MVP this season, breaking down what makes it so tough for the Los Angeles Lakers star.

Luka Doncic has been a top five player in the NBA basically every season after his rookie year. The Slovenian superstar has been picked as the favourite to win MVP before the season begins in a lot of those years, but is yet to actually win the prestigious award.

This season will provide another excellent chance for Doncic to make it happen. He is in his prime now and the clock is ticking. However, his team is far from the best roster in the Western Conference. Both Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, his biggest competitors for the award, have better support around them. Now, Zach Lowe has given his verdict on if it can happen.

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Zach Lowe points out Luka Doncic’s health issues and MVP competition as reasons he is unlikely to win

The Lakers’ roster may have been built around Doncic, but it is far from perfect. There are some obvious holes, namely at the forward positions, which could be a problem for the team. The ‘Snowtime’ moniker is definitely tongue-in-cheek, but the fact remains that team record matters when it comes to MVP.

Luka has been known to carry teams on his back time and again. But all things considered, Zach Lowe told Bill Simmons why he thinks Doncic will likely fall short once again.

“It’s possible but I feel like we’ve been having this same discussion about ‘this is the year that all stars align for Luka to win MVP,'” Lowe said on the Bill Simmons Podcast. “When I say he hasn’t played enough games I don’t mean he hasn’t qualified for the 65-game rule, I mean he’s around 68 a lot and then his team just doesn’t finish high enough in the standings.

“Look, when you have to go through Wemby, Jokic and SGA, the answer is probably always going to be no. Snowtime or no Snowtime.”

The Lakers will need to vastly outperform expectations for Luka to secure the MVP. His talent has never been in doubt, but he needs to put together one undeniable season to finally claim the award. If it is to be this year, it would undoubtedly be an incredibly impressive achievement for Doncic.