Luka Doncic, (Anadolu)
ANKARA – The Dallas Mavericks' forward-guard Luka Doncic, Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the Denver Nuggets' center Nikola Jokic have been named finalists for the 2023-24 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
In a statement on Sunday, the NBA named all finalists for the seven major performance awards, including this season's MVP honor.
The Mavericks' Slovenian superstar Doncic, 25, who has five years of NBA experience, averaged 33.9 points to lead the regular season standings in points.
The former Real Madrid regular played with 9.8 assists per game for Dallas to be second in this field.
Canadian guard Gilgeous-Alexander, 25, played with a 30.1-point average for the OKC during the 2023-24 campaign to be another finalist for the MVP honor.
Jokic, a Nuggets player since 2015, averaged 26.4 points this season to secure candidacy for the MVP award.
The 29-year-old Serbian superstar is among the league's best rebound takers, as he averaged 12.4 rebounds per game for Denver.
In addition to his defensive dominance, Jokic made 9 assists per game to come after Doncic.
Jokic, who helped Denver win the 2023 NBA title, previously won back-to-back NBA MVP awards in 2021 and 2022.
The NBA playoffs have begun, so each winner of the seven individual awards are expected to be named soon.
In May 2023, the Philadelphia 76ers' seven-time All-Star center Joel Embiid, 30, won last season's MVP award.
The Houston Rockets' Turkish center Alperen Sengun is among the NBA Most Improved Player finalists.
Sengun, 21, averaged 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5 assists for the Rockets this season.
He has been playing in the NBA since 2021. (Anadolu)
