Luka Dončić put on a show Thursday night in Salt Lake City - and somehow, he still wasn’t satisfied.
The Lakers’ star guard dropped a staggering 45 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists in a 143-135 win over the Utah Jazz, delivering yet another reminder of why he’s firmly planted in the MVP conversation. It was a vintage Dončić performance: full control of the offense, surgical decision-making, and a knack for making the game look almost too easy.
But in true Luka fashion, he wasn’t caught up in the numbers.
“I think honestly I could do so much more,” Dončić said postgame. “But I think that one turnover is the best stat-wise on this stat sheet. We had seven turnovers, which is impressive for us and we won the game.”
That comment says a lot about where Dončić’s mindset is right now. Yes, the box score is loaded - 45-11-14 doesn’t happen by accident - but what stood out to him was the ball security.
One turnover in a game where he orchestrated nearly every offensive possession? That’s elite-level control, and it’s exactly the kind of detail that separates good from great.
This season, Dončić is operating at a different level. He’s averaging a career-best 35.2 points per game, along with 8.8 rebounds and 9.1 assists.
He’s shooting 46.3% from the field, 32.4% from deep, and 81.1% from the line. Those aren’t just MVP-caliber numbers - they’re historic.
He leads the league in scoring and ranks sixth in total points, and it’s clear he’s not just padding stats - he’s driving winning basketball.
“He’s just so damn good,” said LeBron James, who knows a thing or two about greatness. “It’s ridiculous.”
James wasn’t just watching from the sidelines, either. The 40-year-old icon turned back the clock with a 28-point, seven-rebound, 10-assist night of his own, doing it all in just 32 minutes. It was a reminder that even as the years stack up, LeBron’s impact remains undeniable.
Together, Dončić and James are proving to be one of the most potent duos in the league. The Lakers are now 22-10 when both stars suit up, and Thursday’s win pushed them to 19-7 on the season - good for third in the Western Conference.
It wasn’t just the offensive fireworks that stood out, though. Head coach JJ Redick pointed to Dončić’s defensive engagement as a work in progress - but also recognized the total package his star delivered.
“[He had] stretches of playing excellent, being engaged and executing our stuff defensively, and then stretches where he is not as engaged and isn’t executing our stuff defensively,” Redick said. “But I would say that’s for everybody.
I think the biggest thing, he played certainly well enough to lead us to a win. Him and LeBron with 24 assists and three turnovers [combined].”
That’s the stat that jumps off the page: 24 assists, three turnovers between them. That’s elite playmaking efficiency, especially when you consider the pace and pressure of a high-scoring game like this one.
For all the preseason noise about whether James and Dončić could coexist, the answer is becoming clearer by the game. They’re not just making it work - they’re thriving. The chemistry is building, the wins are stacking up, and the Lakers are looking more and more like a team that could make a serious postseason run.
And if Luka’s 45-point triple-double is what he calls “not enough,” the rest of the league might want to brace itself.