For the first time in the 79-year history of the NBA, a player has amassed at least 400 points and 100 assists through the first 12 games of a season. Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic increased his 12-game tally to 414 points, 107 assists, 105 rebounds and 24 steals during Sunday’s 108-106 win over the Utah Jazz.
Luka Dončić in 12 games played this season:
414 PTS | 107 AST
He’s the FIRST PLAYER IN NBA HISTORY to have 400+ PTS and 100+ AST through 12 games 🤯 https://t.co/2DtiEFkRJv pic.twitter.com/7GjodXCyG1
— NBA (@NBA) November 24, 2025
If the Slovenian can maintain his current statistical pace, he’d set a new career-high in points (34.5). The likelihood of that happening is slim, given Austin Reaves‘ exploits and a returning LeBron James finding his groove. However, Doncic is on track for his most consistent year as a two-way player, having improved significantly on defense.
Luka Doncic Nearly Unstoppable
With Doncic on the floor, the Lakers are scoring a staggering 119.8 points per 100 possessions, while outscoring teams by 6.1 points. His defensive rating of 113.6 is third among starters, which is excellent given his past issues on the other end of the floor.
Doncic is averaging a career-high 2.0 steals thanks to his active presence in passing lanes, which has helped him and the Lakers create many transition points. To that end, the 26-year-old is averaging 6.1 points off turnovers and 2.8 fast-break points through 12 games — both team highs for the Lakers.
Aptly nicknamed “Luka Magic,” he channeled his inner Magic Johnson on Monday when he “nutmegged” Kevin Love in transition before throwing a lob to Jaxon Hayes.
Luka Doncic’s MVP Case
The five-time All-Star is likely to finish in the top-3 of MVP voting, but his chances of winning the Michael Jordan Trophy are not great. For one, Doncic has more individual firepower around him in the form of Reaves and James, which could diminish his contributions. In comparison, the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and even Cade Cunningham will get to display more of their solo heroics for the rest of the campaign, which will possibly bolster their numbers.
Basketball Reference’s MVP tracker currently gives three-time MVP Nikola Jokic a 74.9% probability rate to win the award, followed by 21.1% to SGA. Doncic has just a 2.0% chance to win his first MVP award based on a model that uses previous voting results and other patterns as a criteria to deliver an analytical prediction.
NBA.com’s KIA Race to the MVP Ladder also had Doncic at No. 3 as of Nov. 21.
“Dončić remains on a production streak that’s either the best regular-season stretch of his career, or close enough,” wrote Shaun Powell. “He’s averaging nearly a triple-double, has eight double-doubles, and is leading the league in scoring as the Lakers — despite the return of LeBron James — have given him the keys.
“Another notable improvement with Dončić is defense. He has a five-steal game and a pair of four-steal games. The all-around play of Dončić is one reason the Lakers are off to a solid start, with James playing only one game during that time.”
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