Luka Doncic Makes History As He Outbattles James Harden

Luka Doncic is one of the biggest names of the NBA, and rightfully so. Since the Dallas Mavericks drafted Doncic in 2018, he has risen to stardom and breaks records left and right. During his first two seasons in the league, the 21-year-old Slovenian has become accustomed to constantly breaking records, proving his talent and why his fame is well deserved.

On Monday night, Doncic broke yet another record as he became the fourth-fastest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists. This milestone is definitely one to put his name among the NBA’s all-time greats.

After a slow start to the 2020-2021 season, which Doncic blames on his conditioning, he had one of his most dominant performances so far in the Mavericks 113-100 victory over James Harden and the Houston Rockets.

“Luka’s one of many players that had heard the season wasn’t going to start until January or February. We started the year in December…so his preparation schedule was thrown off, and he just got behind the curve,” said Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle following the game.

“It’s pretty clear now that he’s working his way back to where he needs to be,” Carlisle. “All his physical and conditioning indicators are really going in a good, strong direction. And you can tell on the floor. You can see that he’s getting better and better as each day goes by.”

Though Doncic missed the Mavs’ previous game with a quadriceps contusion, he still finished the game with season highs. Doncic finished with 33 points, 16 rebounds, 11 assists and recorded his first triple-double of the NBA season.

That triple-double was the 26th of his career so far. This was also the third time that Doncic had 30-plus points, 15-plus rebounds and 10-plus assists in a game. This incredible feat explains why Doncic has earned a place in NBA history.

Doncic outplayed 2018 MVP Harden, who finished with 21 points and 10 assists whilst working his way back to full fitness.