{"id":400029,"date":"2026-11-11T20:21:49","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T19:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nbamaniacs.com\/en\/?p=400029"},"modified":"2026-11-15T16:33:22","modified_gmt":"2026-11-15T16:33:22","slug":"doncic-10-games-for-the-history-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nbamaniacs.com\/en\/doncic-10-games-for-the-history-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Doncic: 10 games for the history books"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The leading MVP contender (so sorry, Wemby) has just found a rather peculiar and counterintuitive way to lower his scoring average: putting up 32 points in a game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is exactly what he did in Atlanta yesterday. He also added ten assists, eight rebounds, five steals and two blocks in the Lakers’ 124-114 win. It was the kind of performance that would make the night unforgettable for almost any average NBA player. But for Luka Doncic, our protagonist, it was his third-lowest scoring game of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The perks of living at 39.3 points per game.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Slovenian has made ten appearances so far in the regular season <\/em>and already has six of at least 40 points, two above 50 and a total of 393. To find a better scoring start to a season, you have to go back sixty years to the greatest reference point in history for outrageous feats of this kind, Wilt Chamberlain: 496 points in his first ten games of the 1961-62 season and 529 in those of 1962-63.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And since Wilt plays in a league of his own, one that is absurd to compare against, it is probably more striking to look at his peers of the ‘present’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Brian Martin’s graphic analysis for NBA.com<\/em> is like comparing Isinbayeva with the next-best pole vaulter in history. The gap is enormous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as enormous is measuring the 2026-27 season’s top scorer against whoever is trying to stay in his slipstream without finding it: between Doncic and Stephen Curry, the second-highest scorer, there are 8.7 points. Exactly the same gap that separates Curry from the 24th-placed player, Nickeil Alexander-Walker. One step for Luka; twenty-two places for everyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Almost as remarkable, by the way, as a 38-year-old standing out as the NBA’s second-highest scorer. Incredible stuff from D. Stephen)<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speed, quality and quantity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In terms of how quickly he makes an impact, Doncic goes into every game so unrestrained that his 21.7 points at half-time alone would be enough to place him among the league’s top 25 scorers over full games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay, message received. An offensive beast piling up numbers. So we have the quantity. But what about the quality? Does the volume match the accuracy? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, let’s get into it. Because what Doncic is doing becomes even more valuable under follow-up questioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

40.7% from three while shooting more than ever in his career, 13.5 attempts per game. Relentless bombardment and the precision to justify it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of that he adds 49.8% from the field and 88.1% from the free-throw line. All career-best figures in nine NBA seasons. We are talking about the Lakers guard flirting with the exalted 50-40-90 club<\/a> while taking more than 24 shots per game<\/strong><\/a>. A triple that only nine players in history have managed to sustain over a regular season, with Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving the only active players to have done it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Returning to the three-pointer, the left wing is, for the moment, his favourite spot to operate, at 31 of 70, 44.3%, wreaking havoc with his step back<\/em> (22 of 55, 40%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And between threes and free throws, Doncic accounts for 26 of his 39 points per game. That is, two-thirds of everything he scores<\/strong>. And that is not for lack of pressure on the ball (38.3% on pull up threes<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is more, the intensity of those shots, of fierce one-on-one defences, and a first step recovered for the cause thanks to his obvious weight loss, is what allows him to drive successfully again (60% accuracy on twos with the defender right on him<\/a>) and find his team-mates when he sees his path to the rim firmly shut (almost 8 assists).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW DID HE FIND MAMU \ud83e\ude84\n\nLuka Magic was on full display last night, as he recorded his 8th consecutive 30+ PT game to go along with 10 AST &amp; 5 STL to lead the Lakers to their 6th straight win!\n\nhttps:\/\/t.co\/VaDrVtivHd<\/p>— NBA (@NBA) November 10, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>\n