For most players, a 33-point outing is a career night. For Luka Doncic thus far in the 2022-23 season, it's just another night at the office. Doncic's Mavericks have played seven games, with the most recent being Wednesday's 103-100 win over the Jazz. In those seven games, he has scored 35, 32, 37, 41, 31, 44 and 33 points. As you likely noticed, all seven of those scoring totals started with a "3" or a "4," which makes Doncic the first player in 60 years to score at least 30 points in each of his team's first seven games.
The last player to do so? Wilt Chamberlain, who accomplished the feat in the 1962-63 and 1959-60 seasons. Jack Twyman matched him in that 1959-60 campaign, and Doncic will have a chance to match the 1960 vintage of Chamberlain on Friday when the Mavericks play the Toronto Raptors, as that version of Wilt topped 30 points in only his first eight games. If Doncic wants to match Chamberlain's 1963 streak, though, he's got a long way to go. In that season, Chamberlain scored 30 or more points in his first 23 games. The lesson, as always, is that Chamberlain is a statistical freak.
Doncic isn't just filling up the scoring column in the box score. He's also averaging nine assists and 8.9 rebounds per game for the 4-3 Mavericks, who are dealing with the loss of top free agent Jalen Brunson in the offseason. Without Brunson, Doncic has had to carry a historic ball-handling load for the Mavericks, and thus far this season, he's done so wonderfully.
It's far too early in the season to consider awards races, but if Doncic keeps posting numbers like this, it's going to be hard to deny him the MVP award. Dallas has entrusted him with its entire offense, and so far this season, he has more than delivered.
