Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks is about to begin his third NBA season on December 23, traveling to Arizona to challenge the Phoenix Suns at Phoenix Suns Arena.

Before his rookie season two years ago, people questioned his ability to find his game in the league, then he was named Rookie of the Year after averaging 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.

Then people began to question if Doncic would hit the rookie wall ahead of the 2019-20 season. In response, Doncic dropped 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists. He became an All-Star and made the All-NBA First Team in his second season.

The last person who did that was Anthony "Penny" Hardaway.

So, what's next for 21-year-old Doncic?

One goal is to advance in the playoffs. The Mavericks fought six games in the first round before losing to the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference playoffs last season. Doncic contributed 31.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists per game and made his first playoff highlight on a buzzer-beater from beyond the arc in Game 4.

However, the Mavericks still lost, and despite the fact that Kristaps Porzingis was ruled out of the series after three games, they were no match for the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard destroyed their defense by himself. From Tim Hardaway Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith to Maxi Kleber, no one could stop Leonard from scoring 32.8 points at a 63.9 percent true shooting percentage.

That's why the Mavericks decided to enhance their wing defense during the offseason. They landed James Johnson and Josh Richardson. Richardson can cover both the two guard positions and small forward. Johnson is strong enough to swing between power forward and small-ball center, as long as he does not have to face monsters like Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Unlike most teams in the league, the Mavericks can send a five-out lineup to the court while keeping a fair level of ability to deal with the ball in multiple positions. Doncic is already a top playmaker; Hardaway was an isolation scorer before he joined the team; Richardson can launch limited screen plays off the dribble without hurting team offense.

Does that mean the Mavericks have what it takes to contend with the Clippers, or even the Los Angeles Lakers now?

It's hard to say but their chances do not look good. First, though they added Richardson and Johnson, but they do not seem reliable in front of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, not to mention that neither Richardson nor Johnson has been a deadeye shooter in their career. It may sound harsh, but you can't afford to have too many weaknesses facing today's purple and gold.

Second is the health risk of Porzingis. The 25-year-old Latvian is definitely a unicorn. He could sink 2.5 triples per game at 35.2-percent accuracy last season. Meanwhile, when he has the ball, Porzingis plays like a forward. He can dribble to launch attack from perimeter and has various ways to put the ball into the basket. More importantly, this young man is a 2.21-meter-tall giant with a 2.29-meter wingspan. He is a threat already standing in the paint, both offensively and defensively.

Nevertheless, all of the above only matter if he's healthy, which, unfortunately, is not the case of Porzingis. He has missed a total of 160 games in the five seasons since he joined the NBA in 2015. His torn left ACL has been and will always be a potential risk, not to mention that many of the giants over 2.20 meters in league history have not been known for endurance.

So it all comes down to Doncic to decided how far the Mavericks can go in the new season, and this 21-year-old Slovenian kid has unlimited potential.

Though he was once leading the MVP competition last season, Doncic still has quite the space to improve his game. For example, he can do way better than shooting 75.8 percent from the free throw line; his 4.3 turnovers per game are too many for a top orchestrator; his production around the 3-point line (2.8 per game) is good, but the 31.6-percent field goal rate in this area is hardly qualified.

As long as he can improve one of several of the above parts of his game, Doncic will definitely become a hot candidate for the MVP award. Furthermore, many of his competitors have their own problems. For instance, James and Davis are on the same team and there's no need for either of them to go full power in the regular season; Leonard may reduce his load management but he is an isolation scorer by nature, meaning his influence on the floor can hardly match that of a playmaker like Doncic; as for Antetokounmpo, winning the MVP for the third straight time is not for someone who does not have a ring.

Sure, there are other contenders like Damian Lillard, Stephen Curry, James Harden and Nikola Jokic, but Doncic has what it takes to beat them all in the competition.

Many superstars achieved breakthroughs in their third NBA season. Michael Jordan took his first scoring title, averaging 37.1 points in 1987, so did Kevin Durant in 2010; Shaquille O'Neal played his first NBA Finals in 1995; Derrick Rose became the youngest NBA MVP in history in 2011; Dwyane Wade won his first ring and became the Finals MVP in 2006.

Which will Doncic win in 2021?