Luka Doncic wins ESPY award for 2024 NBA Player of the Year

Luka Doncic was awarded the ESPY for 2024 NBA Player of the Year on Thursday, ahead of the annual ESPYs event. The ESPYs, ESPN’s sports award show since 1993, are decided by fan votes. Doncic triumphed over nominees Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jayson Tatum. Despite Jokic winning the 2024 MVP award in May, Doncic secured the ESPY, having finished third in MVP voting.

Doncic’s ESPY win follows the best season of his NBA career. He led the league in scoring with 33.9 points per game and propelled the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals since their 2011 championship. Doncic’s impressive playoff run included defeating higher-seeded opponents in each round of the Western Conference Playoffs. This culminated in a dominant five-game victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, where Doncic hit a game-winning shot on the road in Game 2 and earned the Western Conference Finals MVP award. The Mavericks’ season concluded with a five-game loss to the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals.

Additional season highlights for Doncic included a career-high 73-point game against the Atlanta Hawks, the fourth-highest in NBA history. He also started another All-Star game, earned his fifth consecutive All-NBA First Team honor, and set a career-high with 21 triple-doubles.

Doncic’s basketball season is currently over, following Slovenia’s loss to Greece in an Olympic qualifying match. The Mavericks star now has about three months to rest and prepare for the next NBA season, which begins in late October. He will be joined by new teammate Klay Thompson, a four-time NBA champion, signed by the Mavericks in early July, to help keep the team in championship contention.