With LeBron James sidelined, the Los Angeles Lakers have turned into the ‘Luka Doncic Show’ to begin the 2025-26 NBA season. While Austin Reaves is still on the court and putting up All-Star-level numbers, Doncic has been busy breaking long-standing Lakers’ records.
In the team’s most recent win against the Minnesota Timberwolves in an early-season playoff rematch, Doncic finished with 49 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists in the 18-point win. With the performance, Doncic broke Jerry West’s franchise record from 56 years ago for the most points scored in the first two Lakers’ games of the season, combining for 92 compared to West’s 81.
Though just a fraction of the way through the year, Doncic is now averaging 46 points per game. When Reaves was asked if his superstar teammate could keep up his scoring numbers after his historic performance, the shooting guard gave a blunt response.
“Yes,” Reaves said when asked if Doncic could average 40 points per game over the entire season and contribute to the team winning. “Yes. He’s so good, it’s weird.”
Doncic also became the first player in Lakers history to score at least 40 points in the first two games of a season. It was also only the fourth time in NBA history a player hit that mark, with Doncic now joining Anthony Davis, Michael Jordan, and Wilt Chamberlain on the exclusive list.
Luka Doncic On His Historic Scoring Start
While the Slovenian did score a game-high 43 points in Los Angeles’ season opener against the Golden State Warriors, he was overshadowed by Stephen Curry, leading his team to the win. However, in the team’s second game of the season against the team that ended their playoff run last year, Doncic was the unequivocal star of the game.
Though the 1-1 start isn’t what he had hoped for, Doncic said he was happy he helped lead the team to a victory.
“I wish we won the first game, but obviously it’s a good comeback,” Doncic said postgame. “I think Minnesota is a great team. We had to do a lot to win today. But myself, I feel great. I want to win every game.”
Along with the 49 total, Doncic had 23 points in the first quarter alone, tying a Lakers quarter scoring record with Kobe Bryant and Kyle Kuzma. Regardless, despite a seeming motivation behind the scoring outburst, Doncic said it had nothing to do with the team’s playoff series last year.
“Just want to forget about last season,” Doncic said. “I was trying to move on. I don’t really think about that first-round series.”
Just two games into the season, Doncic is off to a historic start. An average of 46 points per game across 82 regular-season games might be a tough mark to hit, but his highest scoring average is 33.9 per game, set in 2023-24, which now looks like an effortless number to match.
Lakers Coach JJ Redick Reveals Thoughts On Game
While Doncic still set or tied multiple scoring records while he led the Lakers to the win, head coach JJ Redick revealed he wanted the Slovenian star to score more. As seen in the game, Doncic stayed in despite the lopsided score, and after a few minutes at the 48-point mark, he took multiple attempts to reach the elusive 50-point mark.
Speaking after the game, Redick admitted he wanted Doncic to hit 50 points, which would have been his first time hitting the mark in a Lakers’ uniform. Despite multiple tries, Doncic was fouled and only hit one of his two free throws late in the fourth. He then was subbed out, but not after a solid effort by both him and Redick to reach a half-century in his home debut.
“I’m trying to get the guy 50, and yeah, I’d already given him three chances,” Redick recalled postgame. “I gave a fourth chance. He gets fouled, and then he blows that too…I wanted him to get 50 tonight, though.”
Redick also mentioned he was happy with how the roster as a whole performed against another top team in the West. Along with Reaves’ 25 points, Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura notably combined for 43 points, many of which came during the team’s strong run in the third quarter.
“I think for the first time in Lakers history, the other team called the first timeout in the third quarter,” Redick said. “Had a nice ‘all right, all right’ with the group. ‘All right, group, we did it!’”
With James still out, Doncic will likely continue to shine in Los Angeles, with Reaves and the rest of the roster filling in the cracks.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Austin Reaves Reveals Shocking Luka Doncic Prediction After Win appeared first on Heavy Sports.