Some days it still feels surreal to wake up and remember that Luka Doncic plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. The basketball gods really looked at the Lakers and handed them a gift that is sure to keep on giving for the next decade or so. Divine intervention is really the most rational way to explain why Nico Harrison decided to just discard a generational talent like Doncic.
There were some growing pains for the Slovenian superstar upon debuting for the team. Those were to be expected. Doncic was working his way back from injury and adjusting to a new environment at the same time.
The important thing to keep in mind is that a slow day at the office for Luka will still usually look like a great one for most other players. For Doncic, the majority of his days have not been slow either.
Doncic's fingerprints are all over this Lakers team
Here is a shocker for everyone: the Lakers superstar has been leading the charge in numerous statistical categories for the team post All-Star break.
Starting off with some of the obvious ones, Doncic has been a machine on the offensive side of the ball. No one should be surprised that the five-time All-NBA guard is leading the team in points per game (28.8) and assists per game (7.8) since the break.
Doncic has also been the driving force of the Lakers' fundamental offensive shift. JJ Redick's group has taken a much more perimeter-oriented attack since acquiring their new superstar. Out of the 85.5 field goals attempted per game since the break, 40.6 of those have been from 3-point land. Before the break, the Lakers were also averaging 85.5 field goal attempts, but only 34.2 of those came from beyond the arc.
Doncic has led both the 3-pointers attempted (9.8) and the 3-pointers made (3.7) in the back half of the season, connecting on 38.0 percent of those shots.
With the Lakers opting to play small due to their lack of center depth, a lot of the rebounding responsibilities have been thrust onto Luka and LeBron James in the process. Doncic has stepped up accordingly, leading the team with 8.4 rebounds per game.
For all the talk that the NBA community loves about misidentifying defense as a clear deficiency in the game of the five-time All-Star, Doncic has undoubtedly delivered in the steals category, at the least. The Lakers point guard leads the team with 1.7 steals per game since the break.
Given all of this, it should surprise no one that Doncic is leading the team in the box plus/minus average. The former EuroLeague MVP is a +6.6 on a nightly basis for the Lakers.
Doncic also leads the Lakers in a ton of advanced statistical categories too. Some of the most notable ones include offensive rating (119.8), net rating (8.6), usage percentage (33.4), and player impact estimate (17.2).
Statistically, there is no doubt that Doncic has been the Lakers' best player since the All-Star break. With the 26-year-old heating up before the NBA Playoffs, there is a strong belief that the Lakers are the biggest challengers to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference. A lot of the reasoning for that can be attributed to the sensational superstar play of their point guard.