Only two legends had done it before, until Luka Doncic added his name to the list with back-to-back scoring bursts.
The Los Angeles Lakers have had their fair share of iconic scorers lighting up the NBA Playoffs. But only three players in franchise history have managed to score 30 or more points in each of their first two postseason games. Luka Doncic is now one of them.
Lakers 30+ playoff club
Doncic, who poured in 37 points in his Lakers playoff debut, followed it up with 31 points in Game 2, earning his spot alongside two towering figures of Lakers lore: George Mikan and Shaquille O’Neal.
Mikan, the original Lakers superstar in the 1950s, set the standard. Shaq dominated the early 2000s. Now Doncic, the Slovenian star known for his crafty offense and step-back threes, has written himself into Lakers history, matching their feat in his first playoff series with the team.
While individual stats don’t guarantee team success, Doncic’s offensive firepower is exactly what this Lakers squad needs to make a deep postseason run.
It’s been over two decades since a new name cracked this milestone – and now Doncic, already rewriting NBA records, has done it again in purple and gold.
Does shocking Luka Dončić trade signify a changing NBA landscape?
That was the impetus for the Lakers trading Anthony Davis, who’s playing the best ball of his career, for Luka Dončić despite the questions about Dončić’s conditioning. It wasn’t something the Lakers were courting, but Dallas did call them about Dončić, and the Lakers jumped at the opportunity, sources told Yahoo Sports.
It’s hard to think of a more shocking trade in NBA history when you consider the names and the timing of the deal, late on a Saturday night when the Lakers looked as good as they have at this point in a season since 2020.
But surprise aside, the Lakers have someone to build around for the next decade, assuming health. Keep in mind, the Dallas Mavericks had serious concerns about Dončić and his conditioning.
However, a 25-year-old to follow in the footsteps of Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and now, James, was too much to turn down for a Lakers franchise that always has someone on the marquee and in his prime.
Either they draft them like Magic, identify a young talent like Kobe, or more commonly they poach a full-grown man from a poor franchise that’s ill-equipped to handle everything that comes with a superstar. That wasn’t necessarily the case with the Mavericks, who advanced to the NBA Finals last June and the Western Conference finals in 2022. But in the Lakers’ trade history, they got a teenage Bryant for Vlade Divac, and Davis for a collection of productive players and draft picks that didn’t make a major impact. In acquiring Abdul-Jabbar, the most notable player the Lakers gave up was Elmore Smith. When they acquired Pau Gasol to assuage an itchy Kobe Bryant in the 2007-08 season, Kwame Brown was the centerpiece.
It’s not usually two All-NBA players being moved for one another, it’s usually the pu-pu platter. In fact, it feels like the first of its kind, as Dončić was All-NBA first team last season and Davis was second team — his first All-NBA honor since 2019-20.
That’s where Dončić comes in. The lowest he’s finished in MVP voting the last five seasons is eighth in 2022-23, and he was third last year. But even still, the Mavericks didn’t feel confident in Dončić’s future with the franchise, as he was eligible for a five-year contract extension this summer worth more than $350 million.
His conditioning, a constant concern throughout his career despite his stellar play, was a chief motivator in Dallas initiating trade talks with the Lakers. He’s played only 22 games this season and is currently out with a calf injury. He’ll be ineligible for postseason awards because he won’t be able to meet the 65-game threshold.
Perhaps it’s a signal for the future as more money comes into the NBA system with the new media-rights deals taking hold. We’re in this new reality of tax aprons and record contracts — like the one Dončić could’ve signed this summer.
Because every homegrown superstar will demand the max, and anything less will be seen as an insult and act of war, it puts the onus on them to be completely responsible and reliable as those times approach — and kudos to Dallas for avoiding potential drama by doing this in the din of night rather than holding a bidding process on the week of the trade deadline or even the summer.
According to sources, Davis is OK with going to Dallas and teaming with Kyrie Irving — and this is a big show of confidence for Irving. Davis can play his desired position of power forward alongside Daniel Gafford and promising big man Dereck Lively II at center.
This feels more about Dallas and Dončić than even Davis and the Lakers — a shock in and of itself. Dončić is shocked with the move, sources told Yahoo Sports. And that could very well be in response to how serious he took the organization’s concerns about his conditioning and diet.
Davis packs his bags for Dallas, and Dončić to Los Angeles — and even though the answers are becoming less hazy, there’s still more smoke to be cleared.
If nothing else, it’s a shocking move that sets the stage for the future of this season and beyond.