Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic lost out on last year’s MVP race, finishing in third place behind Nikola Jokic (his third MVP in four years) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, despite an incredible season averaging 33.9 PPG, 9.8 APG, and 9.2 RPG. If ESPN has a crystal ball that can see into the future, it’ll be the same three players involved in next year’s MVP race.

ESPN recently published its forecast of next year’s major awards, including MVP, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and more. In their MVP poll, Mavericks’ guard Luka Doncic comes out on top with 61 points, receiving 48% of first-place votes. Following Doncic was Jokic (40 points, 10% of first-place votes) and SGA (37 points, 24% of first-place votes). Rounding out the top five was Anthony Edwards and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Doncic should have more momentum for MVP this year following last year’s run to the NBA Finals. The MVP is one of those awards that usually takes years to build up to despite it being a yearly award. This is what ESPN said of their Doncic selection: “Superstars and basketball legends have claimed top-tier status by winning the NBA’s MVP award, and this season’s race is once again wide open. Mavericks guard Luka Doncic is at the top of our rankings after a commanding performance in the 2024 NBA Finals and will look to claim his first MVP award as he enters his seventh season in the league.”

Voter fatigue is likely to set in at some point for Jokic. As incredible as he is, MVP voters rarely select the same winner repeatedly. That’s partially why LeBron James “only” has four MVP trophies, and he won them all over five years.

Gilgeous-Alexander will also have a good shot at MVP if the Thunder find a way to take another step forward. He led them to the top seed in the Western Conference last year and they brought in Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein as reinforcements this offseason.