Luka Doncic has never won an MVP award, and he isn’t pretending it doesn’t matter to him. The Los Angeles Lakers star made his ambitions clear ahead of the new season, even as an unverified claim from The Athletic’s Sam Amick put his exit from Dallas back in the spotlight.

Speaking to California Post reporter Melissa Rohlin, Doncic said winning MVP would mean a lot, but not more than winning a title.

“It would definitely mean a lot. Obviously a championship, that’s what you play for every game. That’s what you train for every day. But obviously it would be nice to win the MVP also,” he said. “Not everybody can say they have an MVP, so obviously that would be nice.”

“But that comes with the team first. If you don’t play good, you’re never going to win championships or MVP. So, we’ve got to play good. I’m very excited to go to war with these people. I think we had a great training camp and we’re ready to go,” he added.

The award has eluded him so far. His best finish came in 2023-24, when he placed third behind Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Last season, he led the league in scoring at 33.5 points per game but finished fourth in MVP voting without a single first-place vote.

This season, he could have a real shot. LeBron James left for the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason after the Lakers were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round.

The team is now built entirely around the Slovenian, along with Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler. The Lakers have won 50 games in each of Doncic’s two seasons, and they opened this one with a 127-105 win over the Golden State Warriors. Oddsmakers list Doncic among the MVP favorites at +500, behind only Victor Wembanyama and Gilgeous-Alexander.

His comments come as questions resurface over how he left Dallas. Amick has claimed the Mavericks ran a smear campaign behind the scenes to justify trading Doncic in February 2025. Amick’s characterization, while unverified, has renewed scrutiny of one of the most debated trades in NBA history.

Amick made the claim in a passage shared by NBA Base.

“The Los Angeles Lakers star has been a lightning rod for criticism from that crowd for nearly a decade now, from the time the Slovenian sensation entered the league as a fiery and absurdly talented rookie in those early Dallas Mavericks days. But the actual basketball people — even the ones who were most critical about his defensive struggles, the contentious relationship with the refs and his (previous) physique — always acknowledged his undeniable greatness (except for the Mavericks when they worked so hard to justify the February 2025 trade with a smear campaign behind the scenes).”

The passage does not name anyone involved or describe what the alleged campaign included, and no other outlet has independently corroborated it.

The trade itself has drawn a lot of criticism since the day it happened. It was a three-team deal between the Lakers, the Mavericks and the Utah Jazz. It sent Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to Los Angeles. Dallas landed Anthony Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick, and Utah picked up Jalen Hood-Schifino plus a pair of 2025 second-rounders.

At the time, then-Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison explained the move by saying, “I believe that defense wins championships.” ESPN also reported that the Mavericks had concerns about Doncic’s conditioning. Harrison later denied having those concerns and said he had never spoken ill of Doncic.

The Mavericks fired Harrison in November 2025, nine months after the trade.

Doncic has not publicly addressed Amick’s claim, and his comments to Rohlin focused on the season ahead. With LeBron gone and the roster built around him, this may be his best chance yet at the award. As he said himself, the Lakers’ results will likely decide whether he gets it.

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