Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic has reached a scoring milestone not witnessed in the NBA for 38 years, surpassing a mark set by the legendary Michael Jordan.
During a comfortable 116-103 victory against the Sacramento Kings on November 4, the Slovenian scored 40 points. Doncic has now played in eight of his team's first nine games this season, scoring a massive 308 points in total.
With this amazing points tally, Doncic becomes the first player to score more than 300 points in his first eight games of an NBA season since Michael Jordan scored 303 points, back in 1988-89.
In the entire history of American basketball, the only person to score more in an eight-game opening stretch is Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain achieved the feat thrice, setting an all-time high of 418 points in 1962-63.
The records did not stop at this for Luka Doncic. This was his third game in a row scoring at least 40 points. In the process, he set a new league record. He is now the first player ever to record at least 35 points, five rebounds, five assists, and five three-point shots in six matches in a row, surpassing Damian Lillard’s record from 2020.
Doncic, Reaves guide LA Lakers to big win
Luca Doncic, who is currently the top scorer in the league with an average of 38.5 points per game, was in unstoppable form against Sacramento.
{{/usCountry}}Luca Doncic, who is currently the top scorer in the league with an average of 38.5 points per game, was in unstoppable form against Sacramento.
{{/usCountry}}He scored almost all of his penalty shots, making 12 out of 13 free throws, and added six long-distance 'three-point' shots. He also contributed nine rebounds and seven assists to help his team.
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His teammate Austin Reaves also played well, adding 21 points to help the Lakers secure their seventh win in nine games this season.
The match did have a brief moment of drama late in the third quarter. After the ball went out of bounds near the edge of the court, a situation involving Doncic occurred that led to a spectator being removed from his seat by security.
With the victory, the Lakers improved their season record to seven wins and two losses, placing them in second place in the Western Conference standings with a PCT of .778.