The Nuggets got a firsthand look at Luka Doncic and the LA Lakers on Saturday night. He put forth his best performance since the trade that rocked the NBA world, sending Doncic from Dallas to LA with Anthony Davis going back to the Mavericks.
It’s obviously going to take some time for Luka to get fully acclimated to his new team, but the potential was on full display Saturday night as he scored 32 points with 10 rebounds and 7 assists in a 123-100 demolition of Denver.
That was Luka’s high-scoring mark in his new uniform, but his other games were quieter and he sat out the second leg of a back-to-back as his hamstring recovers. His recovery must be going fairly well as he was back in action on Tuesday night, taking on his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, for the first time.
Luka joins LeBron and Westbrook as only players with triple-doubles against all 30 teams
Doncic didn’t bring his “A” game, but he did help the Lakers get a win and recorded his first triple-double in a Lakers uniform with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists. It was also, of course, Luka’s first triple-double against the Mavericks.
Doncic had logged a triple-double against each of the other 29 teams in the NBA, so now he has accomplished the feat against all 30. The only other players to achieve a triple-double against all 30 teams in NBA history are Doncic’s current teammate, LeBron James, and current Nugget, Russell Westbrook.
Luka & Kyrie put on a SHOW in their first duel after the trade 🤩
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 26, 2025
Dončić joins an ELITE club with LeBron & Russ of the only players to record a triple-double against all 30 teams! pic.twitter.com/xofzPugbBC
Hopefully, for the Nuggets’ sake, Nikola Jokic never joins this club
Nikola Jokic is one of the preeminent triple-double compilers of all time and has racked one up against 29 teams across the league. But Jokic has never played for any team other than the Nuggets, therefore he has never had a chance to get a triple-double against the Nuggets.
It would be cool for Jokic to be able to join this club and notch one against every team, but it would be even cooler if he never faces the Nuggets. Fans will be perfectly content for him to keep his tally at 29 times for the sake of him playing his entire NBA career in Denver.
So far, there has been zero reason to believe Jokic has any desire to leave and play elsewhere, but neither did Doncic and we all saw how that played out. Certainly, anything can happen in the modern NBA, but let’s hope that Jokci stays stuck on 29 and ends his career playing for just one team where he’s already cemented himself as the greatest player in franchise history.