.jpg?itok=h3mWLdEo&ssl=1 "Luka Doncic turns 24: his NBA and European career records and milestones")
Luka Doncic turns 24 this Tuesday: in his fifth NBA season, the Slovenian continues to shine in Dallas Mavericks as an MVP candidate and setting different league records as in every campaign since he arrived in the best league in the world.
Next, we consider Doncic’s 24 career statistical milestones.
24 milestones in Luka Doncic’s career
- First triple-double of 60 points and 20 rebounds in NBA history
With 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists against the New York Knicks in December 2022, Doncic recorded the first 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double in NBA history.
- Second European player to win the Rookie of the Year award
Doncic was selected as the best rookie of the 2018-2019 season. He was the fifth player not born in the United States to win the award and the second European non-NCAA player to do so, following Pau Gasol in 2002.
- Only foreign player to score at least 60 points in an NBA game
On December 27, 2022, Luka Doncic scored 60 points in the Dallas Mavericks’ win over the New York Knicks. He surpassed Joel Embiid’s 59 points and Tony Parker’s 55.
- Second player with most 50-point games in first five NBA seasons
In his fifth season, Doncic already has five games with at least 50 points in the NBA, the same number as LeBron James in his first five years in the league. He is surpassed only by Michael Jordan with 17 games.
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- Youngest player to be voted Western Conference Player of the Month.
Since the player of the month awards were created in the 1979-1980 season, Luka Doncic was the youngest winner in the Western Conference, at the age of 20 for October-November 2019.
- Second player to have more consecutive games of 30 points or more in a season opener
Luka Doncic scored 30 or more points in the first nine games of the 2022-2023 season, a mark surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain’s 23-game streak at the start of the 1962-63 season.
- Most points in playoff debut
In his first playoff game, Luka Doncic scored 42 points in the Dallas Mavericks’ loss to the LA Clippers and set a new NBA record for a postseason debut.
- Second best scoring average in playoff history
Only Michael Jordan, at 33.4 points per game, has a better scoring average than Doncic (32.5) in the playoffs, already 28 postseason games into Luka’s career. Third place belongs to Allen Iverson with 29.7.
- Second youngest player to finish in the top 5 of MVP voting
Doncic was fourth in 2019-20 MVP voting at 21 years and 168 days. Only LeBron James was ahead of him at that mark, at 21 years and 110 days.
- The youngest European player to start in the NBA All-Star Game
At the age of 20, Doncic was selected as a starter for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, becoming the youngest European in history to achieve this milestone in the league.
- Youngest player to make a game-winning shot at the buzzer in the playoffs
Luka Doncic’s 3-pointer to give the Dallas Mavericks an overtime victory against the LA Clippers in Game 4 of the 2020 first-round series left him as the youngest player to score a game-winner at the buzzer in the playoffs at 21 years, 177. days.
- Most consecutive games with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists
Between October and December 2019, Doncic recorded 20 consecutive games with at least 20 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds, the longest streak in the league since the ABA merger, surpassing Michael Jordan’s 18.
- Fifth player in history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists as a rookie
Doncic averaged 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6 assists as a rookie, joining Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tyreek Evans as the only players to do so in his first year in the NBA.
- Second player to achieve a 60-point triple-double
Doncic’s 60-point triple-double was just the second in NBA history, behind James Harden’s 60-point, 11-assist, 10-rebound feat in January 2018.
- Youngest player to record two consecutive triple-doubles of 35 or more points
In November 2019, Doncic had a 42-point, 12-assist, 11-rebound game against the San Antonio Spurs and two days later had one of his 35-point, 11-assist, 10-rebound games against the Golden State Warriors in 20 years and 263 days. .
- He leads the league in scoring with 33.1 points per game
Doncic is averaging 33.1 points per game in the 2022-2023 season, with 1,720 goals in 52 games. He would be the first European player to do so in NBA history.
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- Along with Joel Embiid, he is the first foreign player in history to average over 32 points per game.
Doncic’s 33.1 points per game and Embiid’s 33 points per game are the first foreign players in NBA history to break the 32 points per game barrier over the course of a season.
- Second player to reach 4,000 points and 1,000 assists before turning 22
Only Luka Doncic and LeBron James added more than 4,000 points and 1,000 assists in an NBA regular season before turning 22.
- The youngest winner of the EuroLeague MVP award
At the age of 18, Luka Doncic was selected as the 2017-2018 Euroleague Regular Season MVP. His team, Real Madrid, was crowned champion and Doncic was also the MVP of the Final Four.
- Third player with at least 900 points scored in first 28 playoff games
Doncic is, along with Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain, one of three players in league history with more than 900 points through the first 28 playoff games (a mark that Doncic has challenged thus far).
- The top ten in NBA triple-doubles
Luka Doncic has 56 triple-doubles in 316 regular-season NBA games, which already puts him in the top ten all-time. He is 142 behind all-time leader Russell Westbrook.
- Second youngest player and who needed the fewest games to reach 50 triple-doubles in the NBA
Luka Doncic reached 50 triple-doubles in 278 NBA games at the age of 23 years and 263 days. Only Oscar Robertson (111 games and 23 years and 42 days) has reached that mark faster.
- Second highest number of points in an Olympic Games event
Luka Doncic’s 48 points in Slovenia’s victory over Argentina at the Tokyo Olympics was second only to Oscar Schmidt’s 55 points for Brazil in Seoul 1988 in Olympic basketball history.
- Second highest number of points in a EuroBasket match
Luka Doncic’s 47 points in Slovenia’s win over France at EuroBasket 2022 remained the second-best mark in tournament history behind Belgium’s Eddie Teras’ 63 points against Albania in 1957.
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