'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#3 Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose is not and hasn't been an NBA MVP candidate for close to a decade now. However, his first years in the NBA (even before his MVP season) were quite impactful and extraordinary.
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In his sophomore season, after winning the 2008-09 Rookie of the Year with the Chicago Bulls as the first overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, Rose followed it up by becoming an All-Star.
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In the 2009-10 NBA campaign, Rose averaged 20.8 points, six assists and 3.8 rebounds per game in the regular season (78 appearances). He made 48.9% of his field goals that year and helped the Bulls reach the NBA Playoffs.
He made it to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career (the first of three) and Rose became an NBA MVP the following season.
#2 Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard won the 2012-13 NBA Rookie of the Year award ahead of some big names, such as Anthony Davis and Bradley Beal, who finished second and third in the ROY voting, respectively.
Lillard's rookie season was impressive, but his sophomore season showed the ability to make big shots in big moments. In the regular season, Lillard added 20.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game while appearing in all 82 games for the second time in two years in the league.
Lillard also had a 42/39/87 shooting split as a sophomore, earning a spot in the All-Star Game and one on the All-NBA Third Team.
In the 2014 NBA Playoffs, Lillard hit a buzzer-beating, series-clinching three-pointer against the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of the first round to put the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round.
#1 Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic had one of the greatest sophomore seasons in recent memory, and he was certainly an NBA MVP candidate from his first dribble as an NBA sophomore.
The Dallas Mavericks' floor general won the Rookie of the Year award after the 2018-19 NBA regular season and he had an even more impressive sophomore campaign.
The Slovenian superstar, who had a bit of a slow start to the 2021-22 NBA season, became an NBA MVP contender in the 2019-20 season with the Mavs, and he led the league in triple-doubles at age 21, becoming the youngest to ever do so after breaking Magic Johnson's record.
Doncic averaged 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists and put up a 46/31/75 shooting split in the 2019-20 regular season. He appeared in 61 games throughout the shortened regular season, and later put up 31 points, 9.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game in the first round of the postseason against the LA Clippers, who were favorites to win the title (it was Doncic's first playoff series).
The Slovenian earned All-NBA First Team honors and finished fourth in the NBA MVP voting.
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