news-engine

← nba

Luka Doncic Named Overwhelming Favorite For One Major NBA Award By ESPN Panel

Fadeaway World · Gautam Varier · 2026-08-27T12:11:07+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic is the reigning NBA scoring champion, and ESPN’s NBA insiders largely believe he’ll go back-to-back. The Summer Forecast Panel was asked for their predictions for every major award, and Doncic got more than double the votes of anyone else with 11. 1. Luka Doncic: 11 votes 2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: five votes 3. Anthony Edwards: three votes 4. Victor Wembanyama: one vote Doncic won his second scoring title by averaging 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2025-26. The Slovenian previously won the scoring crown in 2023-24 by averaging 33.9 points per game for the Dallas Mavericks. If Doncic becomes the first since Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid (2022, 2023) to go back-to-back, he’ll become just the 10th player in NBA history to win three or more scoring titles. That would be quite a feat. Now, Doncic appears set to enter next season in the best shape of his life. The six-time All-Star looks pretty slim, and former NBA star Gilbert Arenas thinks the rest of the NBA is in trouble. Arenas added that Doncic will win the scoring title and brought up the fact that LeBron James has left for the 76ers. As a result, the 27-year-old will carry a bigger offensive load. As for the biggest threat to Doncic, Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the second-most common pick. Gilgeous-Alexander was the second-leading scorer last season after averaging 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. This made it four straight seasons of hitting that 30-point mark for the Canadian. That run saw Gilgeous-Alexander win the scoring title in 2024-25, where he averaged 32.7 points per game. The four-time All-Star will definitely be in the mix. Anthony Edwards came in at No. 3, and the Minnesota Timberwolves superstar is an interesting selection. Edwards averaged 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game for the Timberwolves in 2025-26. Notably, he has increased his scoring average every season and will come close to hitting 30 points should that trend continue. The Timberwolves have also brought in LaMelo Ball this offseason, and he should make life easier on the court for Edwards. Ball might be the best playmaker he’s played with. Lastly, we get to San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama, who got just one vote. Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.0 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game in 2025-26. The Frenchman is the best defensive player in the NBA by a mile, but his offensive game still needs work. It’s why he barely made it here. Speaking of defense, Wembanyama unsurprisingly was the overwhelming favorite for the Defensive Player of the Year award. He got 108 points, and no one else had more than 20. Wembanyama also received 102 points for MVP. Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic was a distant second with 31 points, and Doncic was third with 28. Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning back-to-back MVP, was fourth with 26 points. These insiders sure are all in the Wembanyama hype train. You can’t really blame them. What they aren’t sold on are Doncic’s Lakers. They project the team to take a significant step back, finishing as the sixth seed in the Western Conference with a 45-37 record. The Lakers, of course, were the fourth seed in the West last season with a 53-29 record. They have overhauled their roster, and these insiders don’t love what they have now.