The Los Angeles Lakers have had a dream start to the season thanks to the stellar play of Luka Doncic. No one else in the NBA is remotely close to Doncic’s 40 point-per game average so far this season. Many pundits can tell that something changed for Luka to start playing with the MVP in mind for the first time in his career. However, it appears that something off the court played a huge role in this improvement.
NBA insider Kirk Goldsberry revealed what an inside source told him:
“I asked somebody very close to the situation what has gotten into Luka Doncic? I’ve never seen this. And this person said to me, ‘Kirk, he is clear headed,’ and sort of alluding to clouds from last year that were, I think, off the court things.”
The belief is that Doncic feels more at peace and clear headed after a few years of intense change. Off-court issues involved Luka going through a public divorce and child custody battle. Doncic tried to balance getting traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers and his personal life falling apart over the past few years. Anyone would struggle with that, but Luka felt inspired to make the most of his improved headspace to improve his play.
Why Luka Doncic Views This Season Differently
A combination of personal changes and the basketball aspects have seen Doncic playing at a historic level. Losing LeBron James led the Lakers completely changing the roster by letting more names leave and signing new talents who fit Luka’s playing style better.
Doncic has praised this season’s roster, especially after the Lakers traded for Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz. The center was added to fit Luka by giving him a center who can anchor the defense and make easy buckets when Doncic manipulates the defense.
All these factors make it more viable for Luka to win his first MVP Award. Austin Reaves is the only All-Star caliber teammate of Doncic. The fact that Luka is still putting up these remarkable numbers with Reaves still getting his shots up makes this viable for the rest of the season.
Can Luka Doncic Average 40 Points All Year?
Wilt Chamberlain is the only NBA player to ever average over 40 points in a single season and did it twice. Michael Jordan, Rick Barry, Kobe Bryant, and James Harden are the only other names to even average 35+ points per game in a full season.
The 40-point mark seems highly unlikely for Luka to continue having these incredible games every single night. Blowouts will also start to factor in for Doncic to get more rest as the most important Lakers star needed to be healthy all season for real success.
35 points could be realistic if Luka keeps this mindset and remains mentally locked into this zone. JJ Redick wants to keep giving Doncic full control of the offense since he’s arguably the best player in the league now. Regardless of his points average, expect Luka to challenge Victor Wembanyama in the MVP race all season.
Insider Reveals Shocking Reason For Luka Doncic Improvement