The Los Angeles Lakers are on a roll. Despite being shorthanded, with injuries already affecting the team hard in the first couple of weeks of the 2025-26 NBA season, the Lakers have been able to endure, as Luka Doncic has lived up to expectations.
With seven games in the books heading into Monday’s second game of a back-to-back set, Doncic is already mentioned in the same breath with Lakers legends Jerry West and the late great Kobe Bryant.
Luka Doncic Already Making Lakers History
During the NBA offseason, Doncic was determined to change the narrative about his physical conditioning and defensive play on the court. He transformed his body and let it be known that he would be a better all-around player during the 2025-26 campaign.
Doncic is already well on his way to living up to his promise, as he has been incredible over the course of the first four games of the season. He has scored 165 points over the span of four games, which is higher than Bryant and West were able to accomplish in a Lakers uniform, according to NBA.com/stats X account.
Luka Dončić’s 165 points are the most by a Lakers player through the first four games of a season!
Luka Dončić (2025-26) – 165
Kobe Bryant (2005-06) – 146
Jerry West (1969-70) – 154 https://t.co/djbHsCS1CU pic.twitter.com/a2vstg7XkG— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) November 3, 2025
Doncic has scored 43 or more points in three of the four games he’s played so far, with his best scoring performance coming against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 24.
Minnesota had no answer for the Lakers’ superstar, as Doncic absolutely tormented them, finishing with 49 points. He was incredibly efficient, shooting 60.9 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc while also racking up 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Obviously, this kind of production is challenging to sustain, especially over the course of a long 82-game regular season and the subsequent NBA playoffs. However, this could be the new Luka Doncic, with a slim physique and a new mindset driving him moving forward.
As if Doncic’s start to the season wasn’t impressive enough, Austin Reaves has taken his game to another level while LeBron James works his way back from injury. James is still recovering from sciatica and will likely remain out until mid-November.
In seven games played, Reaves is averaging 31.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game, shooting 48.9 percent from the floor and 34.4 percent from three-point range.
The undrafted guard is stepping up when the team needs him the most, highlighted by a remarkable 51-point game against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 26. He had the career-high point total one game after Doncic dropped 49 points against the Timberwolves. Reaves also came one assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 11 rebounds, nine assists and two steals.
The dynamic duo has the Lakers firing on all cylinders while putting the league on notice that this team, with or without James, might be for real this season.