Slovenian star Luka Dončić of the Los Angeles Lakers has matched a remarkable feat once achieved by Wilt Chamberlain, becoming only the second player in NBA history to score at least 40 points in each of the first three games of a season. Sixty-three years ago, Chamberlain accomplished this while playing for the Philadelphia Warriors during the 1961–62 and 1962–63 seasons.
In his first three games of the 2025–26 campaign, Dončić recorded 43, 49, and 44 points, respectively—each performance accompanied by a double-double with 12, 11, and 12 rebounds.
Dončić returned on Friday to lead the Lakers to a 117–112 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, after missing three games due to a sprained left finger and a contusion on his left leg. He poured in 44 points in that contest, once again finishing as the game’s leading scorer. He had opened the season with 43 points against the Golden State Warriors, followed by 49 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In NBA history, only a handful of superstars—Wilt Chamberlain with the Philadelphia Warriors (1961–62 and 1962–63) and Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls (1986–87)—have scored 125 or more points in their first three games of a season. Dončić has already tallied 136. Jordan, by comparison, scored 50, 41, and 34 points in his first three games that year.
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