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Luka Doncic’s shocking number of MVP votes sparks outrage with Lakers fans

Nypost · · 339 words · By Michael Duarte
NBA MVP Voting Controversy Luka Doncic Performance
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/18/sports/luka-doncics-mvp-voting-results-leave-laker…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
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Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence
Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

16 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 7
schedule Pending 6
verified Verified By Reference 1
info Single Source 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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“The NBA announced the 2026 MVP on Sunday morning”
CORROBORATED
The claim is reported by Nypost and corroborated by NBA.com and other web results stating the MVP was announced on Sunday.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2016 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2015–16 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven series, the Eastern Confere…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_NBA_Finals
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025–26 NBA season is the 80th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 21, 2025 and ended on April 12, 2026. The third edition of the in-season NBA…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_NBA_season
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 NBA playoffs is the ongoing postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2025–26 season. The playoffs began on April 18 and will end with the conclusion of the 2026 NBA Fina…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_NBA_playoffs
+ 4 more evidence sources
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“Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning for the second straight year”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (NBA.com, Tim Reynolds/Web Search) confirm Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the MVP for the second consecutive year.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2024–25 season and conclusion to the season's playoffs. The best-of-seven series ended with the Western C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_NBA_Finals
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2024–25 season. The Oklahoma City Thunder, led by the reigning MVP and scoring leader Shai Gilgeous-A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_NBA_playoffs
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shaivonte Aician Gilgeous-Alexander ( SHAY GHIL-jəs; born July 12, 1998), also known by his initials SGA, is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Bas…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shai_Gilgeous-Alexander
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“fourth-place finisher Luka Doncic failed to receive a single first-place vote”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including a specific report on voting results and a news article, confirm Luka Doncic finished fourth and received zero first-place votes.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025–26 NBA season is the 80th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 21, 2025 and ended on April 12, 2026. The third edition of the in-season NBA…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_NBA_season
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Luka Dončić ( LOO-kə DON-chitch; Slovene: [ˈlùːka ˈdòːntʃitʃ]; born February 28, 1999) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luka_Dončić
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Luka Dončić–Anthony Davis trade was a National Basketball Association (NBA) trade made on the night of February 1–2, 2025, which saw Luka Dončić traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luka_Dončić–Anthony_Davis_trad…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“he did lead the NBA in scoring this season with 33.5 points per game”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Basketball-Reference.com explicitly lists Luka Doncic as 1st in scoring for 2025-26 with 33.5 PPG.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Luka Dončić–Anthony Davis trade was a National Basketball Association (NBA) trade made on the night of February 1–2, 2025, which saw Luka Dončić traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luka_Dončić–Anthony_Davis_trad…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2023–24 season. The playoffs began on April 20 and concluded on June 17 with the Boston Celtics winni…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_NBA_playoffs
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Luka Dončić ( LOO-kə DON-chitch; Slovene: [ˈlùːka ˈdòːntʃitʃ]; born February 28, 1999) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luka_Dončić
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“won the Player of the Month Award twice”
SINGLE SOURCE
While there is evidence of his general career achievements and current team, no specific evidence in the provided results confirms he won the Player of the Month award twice in the 2025-26 season.
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web search NEUTRAL — Since his rookie season, he has been selected to six NBA All-Star games and five All-NBA First Team selections. He also represents the Slovenian national team. Nicknamed Luka Magic, [2] he is broadly …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luka_Dončić
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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 28, 1999 · View the profile of Los Angeles Lakers Guard Luka Doncic on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3945274/luka-doncic
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web search NEUTRAL — 6 days ago · Luka Dončić shared some personal news after the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
https://athlonsports.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/luka-doncic-…
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“Nikola Jokic finished in second-place and received 10 first-place votes”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources (CBS Sports and a specific MVP voting report) confirm Nikola Jokic finished second with 10 first-place votes.
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web search NEUTRAL — Nikola Jokić is a Serbian professional basketball player who is a center for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association.Jokić was selected by the Nuggets in the second round of the 2014…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Jokić
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web search NEUTRAL — Nikola Jokic Finishes 2nd for MVP. Along with revealing that SGA won the award, the NBA showed the rest of the MVP votes.He received 10 first-place votes, 48 second-place votes, 37 third-place votes, …
https://heavy.com/sports/nba/denver-nuggets/nikola-jokic-fin…
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web search NEUTRAL — Cunningham got two first-place votes in the MVP balloting. He’s the first U.S.-born player to get any of those in the last five years.Jokic has now also received at least one first-place MVP vote in e…
https://www.ksat.com/sports/2026/05/18/inside-the-numbers-wh…
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“Victor Wembanyama finished in third-place and received five first-place votes”
CORROBORATED
Confirmed by CBS Sports and a dedicated report on Wembanyama's finish, stating he came in third with five first-place votes.
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web search NEUTRAL — Wembanyama also plays for the French national team, with whom he won a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics. At the youth level, he led his team to two silver medals, including at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Wembanyama
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web search NEUTRAL — The full MVP vote totals came out on Sunday night, and Wembanyama received 569 points, coming in third place in MVP voting behind the winner, SGA, and runner-up Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. The…
https://heavy.com/sports/nba/san-antonio-spurs/victor-wemban…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jokić got 10, Wembanyama received five and Pistons star Cade Cunningham, who finished fifth in the voting behind fourth-place Luka Dončić, got two first-place votes. Here are the complete voting resul…
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/shai-gilgeous-alexander-m…
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“Doncic finished fourth, earning one second-place vote, eight third-place votes, 60-fourth-place votes and 23 fifth-place votes from 100 media members worldwide”
CORROBORATED
Two separate web search results provide the exact breakdown of votes: 0 first, 1 second, 8 third, 60 fourth, and 23 fifth.
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web search NEUTRAL — Gold medal – first place. 2017 Finland–Israel–Romania–Turkey.Dončić was unanimously selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and won Rookie of the Year for the 2018–19 season.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luka_Dončić
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web search NEUTRAL — Doncic received zero first-place votes, one second-place vote, eight third-place votes, 60 fourth-place votes and 23 fifth-place votes. It was a surprising tally for some, especially Lakers fans, cons…
https://heavy.com/sports/nba/los-angeles-lakers/luka-doncic-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Dončić did not receive a single first-place vote in the MVP voting as revealed on Sunday, though he did receive one second-place vote, eight third-place votes, 60 fou…
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25428900-how-many-votes-…
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“Cade Cunningham finished fifth”
CORROBORATED
The claim is reported by Nypost and corroborated by CBS Sports, which explicitly states Cade Cunningham finished fifth.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Cade Cunningham finished fifth
https://nypost.com/2026/05/18/sports/lakers-fans-livid-over-…
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“Doncic had an incredible season, averaging 33.5 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 8.3 APG, 1.6 SPG”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
While the scoring average (33.5 PPG) is verified, there is no evidence in the provided search results for the specific RPG, APG, and SPG figures mentioned.
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“guiding the Lakers to the fourth seed in the Western Conference”
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“The Lakers haven’t had a major individual award winner since Lamar Odaom won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2011”
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“The last Laker to win MVP was Kobe Bryant in 2008”
PENDING
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“Doncic finished first in the league in total point, points per game, usage %, total free throws made, free throws per game, three pointer per game, and points per 100 possessions”
PENDING
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“He also finished third in assists per game and sixth in steals per game”
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“Doncic reportedly traveled back to Slovenia on Sunday where he plans to continue to recover from his grade 2 hamstring strain injury”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.