Slovenian guard Luka Doncic set franchise records with the Dallas Mavericks that may never be broken — and he’s continuing that legacy with the Los Angeles Lakers. With his 52-point masterpiece on Sunday, Doncic surpassed a long line of Lakers legends to become the fastest player in franchise history to reach 3,000 points.
Lakers history: Fastest to 3,000 regular-season points
Luka Doncic: 95 games
George Mikan: 106 games
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 109 games
Shaquille O’Neal: 110 games
LeBron James: 114 games
The NBA acknowledged the feat on social media:
“With his masterful performance tonight, Luka Dončić surpassed 3,000 regular-season points as a Laker in just 95 games, the fastest in franchise history,” wrote the league office. “He breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s previous mark of 109 games, set across the 1975-76 and 1976-77 seasons.”
Luka Doncic Makes History
Doncic’s 3,035* points with the Lakers (through 95 games) are also the second most by a player with any franchise, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain (Warriors and 76ers).
Furthermore, Doncic on Sunday became the first player in Lakers franchise history to record 50+ points, 10+ assists, 5 + rebounds and 5+ made threes in a game.
🪄 52 PTS 🪄 8 REB 🪄 10 AST 🪄 2 STL 🪄 8 3PM 🪄 LAKERS ROAD WIN
He becomes the first player in @Lakers franchise history to record 50+ PTS, 10+ AST, 5+ REB, and 5+ 3PM in a single game!
Doncic finished with 52 points — including eight threes — eight rebounds, and 10 assists as the Lakers pulled off a 132–123 road win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday. Powered by his heroics, Los Angeles overcame an 18-point first-half deficit, with Doncic sparking a late 14–5 run and sinking back-to-back threes to seal the victory.
Following his masterful performance, Doncic admitted he still hasn’t hit his proper basketball rhythm — an ominous sign for his opponents.
“I’m still getting there honestly,” Doncic said, via The Athletic’s Dan Woike.
“This is the first time I didn’t play basketball in six or seven months, which is a long time. So, I’m not used to it. So, I think I’m still getting there. But you know, today was a little bit better.”
Lakers Complete Comeback
The Lakers added nine new players this offseason, including rookie Cameron Carr, who has yet to make his debut. Head coach JJ Redick attributed the team’s repeated habit of squandering early leads to this high roster turnover.
“Because of all the new faces, you need to build reference points,” Redick said of the Lakers giving up first-half leads.
“And whether, really whether we had responded to the adversity of that first quarter, not being ready to play and not doing any of the stuff that we had talked about pregame, it still would be a reference point.
“Because we ended up coming back and winning, now it becomes a positive reference point.”
The Lakers (3-0) will next face the Portland Trail Blazers (2-0) at home on Tuesday.
Lakers Get Amazing Luka Doncic News Amid 3-0 Start