Luka Doncic is making NBA history unseen since Wilt Chamberlain
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić opened the season as a flame throwerand now he’s at the club he basically belongs to Wilt Chamberlain. According to a note shared on X by analyst Keerthika Uthaiakumar, the list of players to start the season with three consecutive 40 points games is Chamberlain 1961, Chamberlain 1962, Doncic 2025. That’s it.
The latest installment came in Friday’s NBA Cup group game, where the Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies. The ESPN box shows the Lakers closing strong to seal a 117–112 road victory, with Doncic providing the comeback. His line of 44 points, 12 rebounds and six assists led Los Angeles through a turbulent second quarter to a dominant finish. It is the exact brand of basketball to download The Lakers envisioned it when they reshaped the roster around him.
This isn’t empty calorie scoring either. Doncic combined volume with control, punishing single coverage, looking for mismatches and using the threat of his step back to create easy looks for cutters. The numbers prove it: On ESPN’s player page, he averages video game numbers to begin in 2025–26, with efficiency to match. When help is delayed, he sprays 30 footers; when he does not come at all, he lives on the edge or line.
Finding your name next to Chamberlain is no mean feat, and the Lakers needed all of that to balance out the early schedule. The role players chipped in, enough stops, enough timely 3-pointers, but the headliner didn’t blink. The NBA page with its own game captured the momentum: a rough first half, then Los Angeles methodically flipped the script as Doncic controlled the tempo and shot feed.
It’s only October, sure. But three straight 40s to start the year and a statement en route to victory set the tone. If this is the baseline, the Lakers’ ceiling rises with it.
2025-11-01 04:27:00
