Luka Doncic has been rewriting the record books ever since he got drafted. He joined the likes of James Harden, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant on another list.
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The NBA is this Slovenian superstar’s world, and we’re just living in it. One just needs to tune into a Mavericks game to see the impact Luka has on his team.
This man shoulders the lion’s share of offensive responsibility, both as a scorer and as a facilitator, every night. He never gets bogged down irrespective of how much pressure there is in any situation.
We’ve seen him make game-winners and clutch shots as well as any other NBA player these 5 years. He relishes the occasion and embraces the challenge of displaying his greatness whenever demanded.
This season, Doncic has been outdoing even his own standards with his spectacular offensive play. He led the league in scoring for quite a bit, before a scoreless game last week gave Joel Embiid the edge.
But if he continues the form he displayed in the win over Detroit tonight, Doncic will wrest the lead back soon. And deservedly so, for no one looks more unstoppable than the 23-year-old right now.
Luka Doncic joins Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and James Harden on 50-Point Scoring List
Luka Doncic missed the last couple of the Mavs’ games with an ankle injury he sustained against Phoenix last week. A home game against the lowly Detroit seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back in action.
Doncic made sure to capitalize fully on this opportunity to rain in the points. He started off hot as he didn’t get much support from his team. The MVP candidate piled up 24 points in just the first quarter.
By the time 3 quarters ended, Doncic was up to 45 for the night. He finished the game with 53 points to his name, marking his 4th 50-point game of the season.
This achievement makes him the 4th player to tally 4 50-point performances in a single season before February in the last 50 years. He joins Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and James Harden (3x) on this elite list.
Mavs star Luka Doncic is the 4th different player in the last 50 years with four 50-point games prior to February (Jordan in 1988-1989, Kobe in 2005-06, Harden x3). Luka’s 5 50-point games are more than the rest of the Mavs had in their history combined (4). @ESPNStatsInfo pic.twitter.com/zkRiCqlixH
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) January 31, 2023
How good is Doncic historically?
Doncic came into the NBA with the greatest pre-draft resume ever seen for a 19-year-old. The hype for him was, however, surprisingly low. Nearly every draft board had him second on the draft list after Arizona’s Deandre Ayton.
He didn’t take too long to display the folly in those notions. Doncic’s rookie season is arguably the most dominant by any freshman since LeBron James, and quite a few fans would take his season over it.
Only 3 players in the last 50 years have recorded 5+ 50+ point games in their first 5 seasons.
Michael Jordan
LeBron James
Luka Doncic pic.twitter.com/w1vs1uuoHt— NBA History (@NBAHistory) January 31, 2023
Into the 5th year of his career now, Doncic has a Conference Finals appearance to his name, compared to James making the Finals in 2007. Given the weakness of that Eastern Conference, we can place the two runs on an almost equal pedestal.
The fact that Luka is showing all signs of becoming a top-10, even top-5 player of all time, so early in his career, marks him out as truly one of a kind.
