Luka Doncic may have entered the NBA as the reigning EuroLeague MVP in 2018, but he had yet to win an MVP award before Thursday. He has finished in the top eight of regular-season MVP voting in each of the last five seasons, but has never won the award. He appeared in All-Star Games in all five of those seasons, but he never won the Kobe Bryant trophy. Without making the NBA Finals, he had little chance of winning the Bill Russell Finals MVP title.

On Thursday, however, Doncic checked off numerous items on his career to-do list. Most importantly, he guided the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-103. That victory brought the Western Conference finals to a close at 4-1, advancing the Mavericks to the Finals for the third time in team history, where they will meet the Boston Celtics.

To top it off, Doncic was voted the Magic Johnson Western Conference finals MVP, his first MVP honour in the NBA. Doncic’s prize, now in its third year, was never in doubt. He dominated the series against Minnesota, averaging 32.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 9.6 rebounds per game. His most memorable moment of the series occurred in Game 2, when he sank a step-back 3-pointer over Rudy Gobert to give the Mavericks the lead in the final seconds. Dallas held on to win the game and establish a 2-0 series advantage.

Doncic will now have the opportunity to win a far more prestigious MVP title when he takes the court in the Finals. Though Boston is likely to start the series as the favourite, Doncic’s exceptional brilliance should make him the most likely Finals MVP winner overall, and if Dallas completes their dream season, he could easily win the Bill Russell Trophy.

Of course, the larger prize is the Larry O’Brien trophy. The Mavericks are currently just four wins away from capturing their second title in franchise history. With Doncic at the lead, they are perfectly positioned to do so.