Expectations were high for Luka Doncic coming into his first full season with the Los Angeles Lakers. A core component behind this was him getting into the best shape of his career and the solid performances for Slovenia in EuroBasket that followed.
On Opening Night, Doncic set the tone with 43 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Unfortunately, L.A. suffered a loss to the Golden State Warriors, but it was clear that the 26-year-old was motivated to put together an MVP-caliber season.
On Friday night, the All-NBA guard followed up his 43-point performance with 49 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to lead L.A. to its first victory. Seeing these two scoring outputs, Doncic’s mentor and close friend Dirk Nowitzki predicted that the Lakers star would lead the NBA in scoring this year, via NBA on Prime:
“He’s been looking incredible the first two games. I’m gonna call it now: He’s gonna be the top scorer of the league this year. He’s gonna lead the league in scoring. What are you gonna do about it?”
The Minnesota Timberwolves, as showcased last year in the postseason, are a physical team and one of the top defenses in the league. They had nothing for Doncic though as opposing teams will find themselves in predicaments trying to stop him all season due to his ability to score and pass.
With LeBron James expected to miss time due to injury, L.A. is seeing what it would be like with Doncic solely in charge. Obviously, it is only two games, but this is the ceiling of the five-time All-Star.
Parity is a driving point in today’s NBA and multiple players have already dropped 40 or more points so far on the young season. Most of those have been in the Western Conference, so the Lakers need to be able to keep up and the Slovenian star seems eager to do so.
Lakers star Luka Doncic makes history with back-to-back 40-point games to open regular season
When L.A. traded for Luka Doncic, general manager Rob Pelinka found his new star to lead the franchise for years to come. However, he missed extensive time with a calf injury last season so he was not in game shape when he made his Laker debut.
After an offseason in which Doncic transformed his body though, he looks like a completely new player, both physically and mentally. Dropping back to back 40-point performances is impressive and Doncic ended up making history with his scoring outputs to begin the season.
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