If there’s one word to describe Luka Doncic right now it would be “unfortunate”. At this time, a year ago, he was racking up insane numbers, coming close to the most prestigious individual title. Fast forward to this year, and the Mavericks star is sitting on the bench, watching his team struggle. While a glimmer of hope appeared with him taking baby steps back to practice, it quickly faded when the league announced devastating news regarding the Slovenian.

No more MVP for Luka Doncic this season. Could it be any worse? The league has confirmed that the 25-year-old has been disqualified from the title race. The NBA introduced the 65-game rule according to which a player needs to appear in at least 65 games to be a candidate for the MVP title. So far, Doncic has played 22 games and missed 16, and he will not be participating in today’s game either. That means he has 65 games left in the season. And all of this because of his left calf injury.

The team received a harsh blow on Christmas Day against the Timberwolves when Doncic was forced to leave the court because of a pain in his calf. Soon, it was announced that he would be out for a month. So, this was somewhat bound to happen. However, Mavericks fans were extremely upset upon hearing the news and took to social media to express their frustration.

Dallas Nation unhappy with Luka Doncic’s MVP disqualification

“Damn man this was supposed to be the year,” a fan commented. Doncic had unleashed his best performances in the previous season but ultimately fell short of the MVP title, despite coming so close. Fans had hoped that this would finally be the season he would claim it.

Meanwhile, someone stated, “We all know even if he plays 82 games and average 35/10/10 nba won’t give the mvp,” hinting at a potential bias against the guard. In the 70 games he appeared in last season, Doncic averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists. Yet he was not given the title. This led some fans to believe that the league favored Nikola Jokic who added 26.4-12.4-9 every night.

“Yea (Adam) Silver f-cked it up, cause this should apply to someone like kawhi ( it’s just an example relax) to Luka who actually plays,” another fan claimed. Kawhi Leonard has a history of injuries, but Doncic has managed to stay relatively healthy. Because of this, the fan feels that the league commissioner made a mistake by applying the 65-game rule to someone like Doncic, who has a cleaner injury record and a genuine excuse this time.

“He was robbed last year so what does it even matter,” read one of the comments. Doncic had a stellar season with impressive numbers to back up his MVP case. His impact even helped the Mavericks reach the 2024 NBA Finals. But what happened? Not only did he miss out on the championship title, but he also didn’t get the recognition for his phenomenal stats. Instead, he ended up third behind Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. As a result, the general narrative among fans is that Doncic was robbed of the MVP title.

One fan wrote, “Sad to see him injured. Basketball is no fun without him in it.” The Mavericks have lost five games since Doncic’s departure, and Kyrie Irving has also joined him on the injury list with a lumbar back sprain. With both stars sidelined, it’s been difficult for the team to maintain balance. Doncic certainly provided that extra spark Dallas needed to compete, with his averages of 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.8 assists this season.

Nevertheless, fans can hold onto hope for the star’s return in good health, as the latest updates are pointing to optimism for now. Does Luka Doncic’s disqualification make you feel the same way it does with Mavs fans? Let us know what you think!