The Luka Doncic MVP case starts with the pressure his half-court creation puts on a defense. The Los Angeles Lakers have won seven straight, and Doncic averaged 40.7 points across the six games he played. Four of those performances reached 40, including 53 against the Portland Trail Blazers. Doncic gets the early edge over Victor Wembanyama because Los Angeles can build so many possessions around his scoring and passing.
The Lakers beat the Atlanta Hawks 124-114 Monday before Los Angeles defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 123-112 Wednesday, November 11, 2026, to reach a league-best 11-2. Doncic scored 32 in each road win, though Austin Reaves missed the first and returned for the second. Coach JJ Redick had different options alongside his lead guard in each city. Through 11 appearances, Doncic leads the league with 38.6 points per game and adds 7.6 assists and 7.5 rebounds in the season game log.
The November game log shows the Lakers outscored opponents by 105 points with Doncic on the floor across those six wins. Los Angeles won those games by 67 points combined, leaving a minus-38 raw scoring margin during his breaks. The split measures scoring at both ends and reflects the lineups and game situations in those minutes.
The Luka Doncic MVP Case Beyond The Scoring
Doncic recorded eight of his 10 assists before halftime against the Hawks, finishing with eight rebounds and five steals. The Atlanta play-by-play shows four threes off his passes across the full game, with Collin Sexton and Sandro Mamukelashvili making two apiece. Mamukelashvili hit five of the team’s 15 threes, going 5-for-8 from deep on his way to 23 points.
Reaves’ illness gave Sexton a bigger role as both a shooter and a ball handler. The Atlanta recap credits Sexton with 18 points and six assists, including three alley-oops to Walker Kessler off drives. Kessler finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, giving the Lakers a scoring option at the rim alongside Mamukelashvili’s shooting. Atlanta cut a 20-point deficit to four with 3:30 left, and Los Angeles answered with six straight points.
Milwaukee Exposed The Gap Behind Doncic
Milwaukee trailed by two after Doncic scored 16 in the first quarter. The Lakers won the second 31-22 even though Doncic supplied just three points, and Reaves and Mamukelashvili reached halftime with 15 apiece. The Associated Press reported that Reaves finished with 18 and Mamukelashvili matched his 23 from Monday. Los Angeles also scored 28 points off 19 turnovers against a Bucks team that fell to 1-11.
An earlier breakdown found the Lakers were outscored by 45 during Doncic’s rest minutes across five October appearances. Los Angeles was plus-six during his breaks against Atlanta and minus-10 against Milwaukee, despite adding nine to its lead in Wednesday’s second quarter. Reaves and Mamukelashvili showed how the Lakers could build a lead while Doncic played. Keeping the offense organized when he sits is a separate rotation question.
Reaves scored 43 in a 121-116 win over the Detroit Pistons, a game outside the six-game rest-minutes calculation because Doncic sat out. Reaves is day-to-day with a bruised left heel after leaving Wednesday’s win. Doncic rolled his ankle in Milwaukee and is expected to avoid missing time. Los Angeles visits the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, November 15.
Victor Wembanyama Gives Voters A Different Case
Shaun Powell’s November 13 ladder kept Doncic first and Wembanyama second, with Jayson Tatum moving into third. The San Antonio Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors Friday for their 11th straight win. Both teams sit at 11-2, so the standings offer little separation in the MVP race.
Wembanyama averages 30.3 points, 11.7 rebounds and 4.4 blocks, with 63.4% true shooting in the November 13 comparison. Doncic scores 8.3 more points per game at 66.2% true shooting, an advantage of 2.8 percentage points. Earlier coverage identified scoring efficiency as a way for Wembanyama to narrow the gap while anchoring the Spurs’ defense.
Wembanyama scored 52 in a 112-111 win over the Dallas Mavericks, collecting 24 rebounds and eight blocks in the official box score. Wembanyama followed with 40 points on 19 shots and eight blocks against Phoenix, Powell’s pick for his game of the week. San Antonio’s starters allowed 85.8 points per 100 possessions through November 8, first in the NBA’s lineup analysis among units with at least 50 minutes. Wembanyama’s rim protection helps explain why the scoring gap alone leaves the race close.
End Of My Luka Doncic MVP Case Rant
A switch can give Doncic a smaller defender to post, while extra help opens a pass. Mamukelashvili can punish that help by popping outside, and Kessler gives Doncic a target at the rim. Five turnovers per game still matter because live-ball giveaways can turn a difficult read into a layup at the other end.
The Luka Doncic MVP case depends on sustaining that workload, and Redick can stagger Reaves to give Los Angeles another initiator during Doncic’s breaks. Sexton gives Redick a second option, especially when the first action stalls and someone else needs to get downhill. Wembanyama can close the gap by sustaining his efficient scoring alongside his rim protection, but Doncic’s half-court creation gives him the edge today.
