Nico Harrison spent part of his offseason retooling a The Dallas Mavericks a team that recently reached the NBA Finals. As of August, Dallas is considered by many to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
What does this mean for their NBA title chances in 2024-25? Could this be the season they get it? Luka Doncic named NBA MVP?
These topics and a few others were covered in an ESPN survey of 18 NBA coaches, executives and scouts. To begin the survey, the group members determined who they believed to be the best player in the league right now.
This might come as a surprise to Mavericks fans, but the polling group declared Nikola Jokic the clear winner in the category with 15 votes. Doncic received two, while Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards received one.
Does that match their MVP predictions? It’s possible. The group also placed Doncic second in the 2024-25 MVP voting. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the category with seven votes, followed by Doncic (five), Edwards (two), Jokic (two) and Boston’s Jayson Tatum (two).
The poll didn’t just focus on the upcoming season, it also asked voters to name the best NBA player in the last five years. Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander came in second with two votes, followed by Edwards and Jokic with one vote. San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama was the top pick with 12 votes.
Finally, this brings us to the group’s picks for conference winners and the next NBA champion. Although they added one of the game’s best 3-point shooters, Klay Thompson, The Mavericks were chosen by only two voters to win the Western Conference.
Oklahoma City was favored to win the West by 14 votes.
One voter picked the Mavericks to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the end of the season, behind the favorites, the Celtics (eight votes) and the Thunder (seven).
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