Lakers Notes: Doncic, Smart, Ayton, Reaves, NBA Cup
Luka Doncic made history once again, becoming only the second player in NBA history to open a season with three consecutive 40-point games. In his return on Friday, the Lakers guard delivered 44 points in a victory over Memphis, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only players ever to achieve this feat.
Doncic had missed the previous three games due to a sprained finger on his left hand and a lower leg contusion. Despite the setback, he showed no signs of slowing down upon his return.
“I mean, I feel great,” Doncic said to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “But obviously, if we get a win, I feel even better. So that’s the whole point — trying to help the team win. Sometimes it’s scoring, sometimes it’s other things.”
By averaging 45.3 points over his first three outings, Doncic became the first Lakers player since Kobe Bryant in 2007 to maintain an average above 45 points in any three-game stretch. However, he admitted that sustaining such scoring might be difficult across an entire season.
“That’s going to be tough,” Doncic said. “Sometimes they’re going to double me more. Sometimes I won’t be able to score that much. I had three or four shots that were crazy attempts, but they were terrible shots.”
Within the Lakers organization, the notion of moving on from LeBron James is reportedly becoming easier. Team insiders suggest the Lakers have found ways to win without him and may even be performing better as a collective unit in his absence.
Author’s Summary
Doncic’s explosive start ties him with Chamberlain for a rare scoring record, signaling a dominant season ahead and hinting at a new era for the Lakers without LeBron.