Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick said on Apr. 22 that he was disappointed Luka Doncic was not included among the finalists for the National Basketball Association’s Most Valuable Player award for the 2025-26 season.
The announcement came after Doncic successfully appealed to become eligible for end-of-season awards, despite not meeting the usual threshold of games played. However, when the finalists were revealed this week, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets were named as candidates.
“Disappointed,” Redick said regarding Doncic’s omission from the MVP finalists. “I think he deserved to be there and I think all three guys that did end up being finalists had strong cases. A lot of this, unfortunately, is media momentum.”
Redick also discussed how perceptions and expectations around teams like the Lakers can influence coverage: “Sometimes a team, I guess we underperformed even though we didn’t have any expectations coming into the year. But I guess we underperformed for a couple months despite him getting Player of the Month one of those months. The media momentum just never got built.”
Doncic received Western Conference Player of the Month honors twice in 2026 and led all players in scoring during March with an average of 33.5 points per game while helping lead his team to a strong record before suffering a season-ending injury along with teammate Austin Reaves.
Reflecting on his experience as both coach and former broadcaster, Redick added: “I worked in television for three years. I know it’s important for producers of shows to talk about the Lakers, and not always in a positive way… Being on the other side of it gave me great… perspective on that.” He concluded by saying he is not motivated by external or internal opinions or expectations.
