Michael Wilbon Has An MVP In Mind. And It's Not Luka Dončić

Michael Wilbon has something that millions of fans wish they had: an official vote for the NBA MVP award. 

This week on “Pardon the Interruption,” the veteran analyst let everyone know where his head is at, amidst the intense MVP discourse. In doing so, Wilbon may have infuriated an entire fanbase.

“My vote, and I’m not even sure of the order, I think it’s Jaylen Brown, one,” he said on Tuesday. “I think it’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, two. And Victor Wembanyama, three.”

Anything else, Mr. Wilbon? “And then, don’t talk to me about a guy who plays half the court, Luka Dončić.”

Tony Kornheiser, Wilbon’s longtime on-air partner, couldn’t help himself. “I know you hate him. You hate him,” Kornheiser teased.

“Luka Dončić is a wizard. He’s a magician,” Wilbon admitted. But this only prodded Kornheiser to fool around some more: “Don’t put him on the Wizards. His career will go south!”

All jokes aside, important votes will soon be cast to determine the latest recipient of the Michael Jordan Trophy. On the one hand, some MVPs in recent history fit the two-way mold that Wilbon is describing: players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid who lit up their squads’ offense while putting in solid to incredible effort on the defensive end.

On the other hand, even Wilbon can’t deny that there have been MVPs who bagged the award strictly because of their offensive prowess, even if their defensive chops are nothing to write home about. James Harden, Nikola Jokić, and the reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander weren’t exactly All-Defensive Team prospects, but their respective skill sets in scoring and playmaking were topnotch.

The question is, will voters think along the same lines as Wilbon? Or will Luka Magic summon the first-ever NBA MVP award for the Slovenian star? Dončić is on track to win the scoring title as he leads the league in scoring with 33.4 points per game, a statistic that poses a strong argument for MVP consideration.

Not in Wilbon’s mind, though. Unless something drastic happens over the next three weeks, it looks like there’s at least one vote against Dončić’s MVP case.