Luka Doncic Named MVP of 2022 NBA Playoffs Round 2 in B/R App Poll

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Dallas Mavericks star point guard Luka Doncic was voted as MVP of the second round of the 2022 NBA playoffs by users in the B/R App on Monday.

Here are the full voting results:

• Luka Doncic (Mavericks): 57 percent
• Jayson Tatum (Celtics): 25 percent
• Jimmy Butler (Heat): 11 percent
• Stephen Curry (Warriors): 7 percent

The result should come as no surprise after Doncic led Dallas to a 4-3 series upset win over the top-seeded Phoenix Suns, culminating in a blowout victory in Sunday’s Game 7.

Doncic dropped 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the Mavs’ 123-90 win. It was a strong follow-up to his Game 6 performance that saw him put up 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight dimes to help Dallas stave off elimination. In the series against Phoenix, Doncic averaged 32.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists while shooting 47.6 percent from the field.

With Doncic leading the way, the Mavericks have reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time since their 2011 championship season, where they will face the Golden State Warriors. The 23-year-old brings a certain amount of joy to the team that had Dallas feeling confident despite going up against a team that went 64-18 in the regular season.

“Honestly, I think we deserve this. We’ve been playing hard the whole series,” Doncic said after Sunday’s win. “Maybe a couple of games here we weren’t ourselves, but we came here with a statement in Game 7. We believed. Our locker room believed. Everybody believed. So I’m just happy.”

Even with Doncic’s overwhelming win in the MVP vote, Tatum’s performance against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals should not be overlooked.

Tatum averaged 27.6 points in the seven-game series, including a 46-point performance in Game 6 when the Celtics faced elimination. In Sunday’s Game 7, he scored 23 points and dished out eight assists, relying more on his playmaking to help lead Boston to victory.

Tatum will lead the Celtics against Butler and the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals beginning on Tuesday. Butler is coming off a dominant showing in six games against the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 27.5 points on 51.5 percent shooting.

Curry and the Warriors will host Doncic and the Mavs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday. Curry averaged 26.0 points in six games against the Memphis Grizzlies, but he’s also had help from Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, so he’s been willing to take a backseat when one of them has the hot hand.