It’s a shame that Luka Doncic’s stellar showing against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night didn’t result in a win for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Doncic finished the contest with 43 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists to open the 2025-26 season, but the Warriors overpowered the Lakers on the road to secure a well-earned 119-109 victory.
Shortly after the Lakers’ 10-point defeat, the OPTASTATs’ X/Twitter account revealed that Doncic made unfortunate history in the contest.
“Luka Doncic is the first player in NBA history to open a season with a 40-point double-double but lose by double digits,” the well-known stats-based social media account tweeted.
It isn’t far-fetched to state that the Lakers could have begun the year with a home win if their star point guard had received more assistance on the offensive end.
Not having LeBron James in the lineup (due to injury) was always going to make winning a daunting task for the 2020 NBA champions. However, outside of Austin Reaves, who contributed 26 points, Doncic’s supporting cast was a no-show, as Deandre Ayton was the franchise’s third-leading scorer with 10 points.
If Los Angeles wants to avoid a lousy start to the new season, they must get consistent production from players not named Doncic and Reaves.
The Lakers will attempt to secure their first win of the year when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday at 10 p.m.
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