Luka Doncic ‘Pays Homage’ To Michael Jordan By Dropping 50 and 10 Exactly 30 Years after He Did The Same

Luka Doncic has been on a tear in this 2022-23 NBA season. While the Mavericks themselves have been middling for the entirety of this year, posting up a record of 17-16 (escaped .500 by beating the Houston Rockets tonight), Luka has been having a historic season yet again. 

Now in his 5th year in the league, Doncic is averaging 32.8 points per game on 49.7% shooting from the field. He’s right behind Joel Embiid for being the scoring leader all while averaging 8.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists a night in quite the LeBron-esque way. 

Mavericks head coach, Jason Kidd, had high praise for his ace, calling him the ‘best player in the world’ following what he accomplished tonight, not just as a player, but as a player for the Dallas Mavericks franchise. It’s safe to say that Mark Cuban saying he’d leave his wife if it meant keeping Luka on the team might’ve been warranted.

Also read: With Luka Doncic Statistically Receiving 10% Of ‘Help’ From Teammates, Christian Wood Claims ‘No Chance In Hell’ He has More Bounce

Luka Doncic drops 50 points and 10 assists 

Luka Doncic went off for a whopping 50 points tonight against the Houston Rockets in a nail-biting finish. The game saw him get his 50th point from a dagger 3 that gave the Mavs a 5-minute lead with less than a minute remaining in the game. 

This is the 9th time a player has recorded 50 points in a game this season and it’s actually the first time in Dallas Mavericks history that a player has dropped 50 points and dished out 10 assists in a single game. Well, if there was one player in franchise history who could have the honor of holding this record, it’s Doncic.

Luka Doncic carried the Mavs to victory over the Rockets tonight:

42 minutes
50 points (17/31 FG)
8 rebounds
10 assists
3 steals

First 50pt/10ast game in @dallasmavs history.#MFFL | #NBA pic.twitter.com/twgvoE2ihh

— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) December 24, 2022

Following this win over the Rockets, the Mavericks have their Christmas Day game against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. They will then go on to play the Knicks followed by Houston twice more in a span of 3 games. 

Who else has had 50 point, 10 assist games in NBA history 

The last person to have a 50 and 10 assist game was none other than the man who was ‘exchanged’ on draft night for Luka Doncic; Trae Young. He did so in January of 2022. Luka joins an elite number of elite players who have accomplished this same feat. 

Damian Lillard has done so 3 times, Stephen Curry did so once, both James Harden and Russell Westbrook have accomplished this a multitude of times, and even Michael Jordan did exactly 30 years ago to this day against the Washington Bullets. 

Also read: Amidst $2.2 Million Stint, Kemba Walker Questions Who Wouldn’t Want To Play With Luka Doncic Following 32-Point Explosion