For the first time in his career, LeBron James sits out the opening night and just gave the keys to his co-star, Luka Doncic. It was a historic night for Doncic, but overall, the Los Angeles Lakers played like a terrible team compared to the aging stars of the Golden State Warriors, resulting in an embarrassing 119-109 blowout loss.
Luka Doncic Makes History in his First Opening Game as a Laker
The Slovenian superstar makes another milestone in the first game of the season after tallying an almost triple-double performance. The 5-time All-Star stuffed the stat sheet with 43 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists in 41 minutes. Although he was shooting poorly from behind the arc (2-for-10), Doncic was unstoppable anywhere else as he went 15-for-17 (88%) for 2-pt field goal attempts. Surprisingly, Luka Magic was incredible on both ends of the floor. The 26-year-old sensation was scary on offense and was also hustling on defense, something fans aren’t accustomed to seeing for now.
This incredible stat line stood out among his other teammates as Luka looked like he was doing everything for the Lakers but still ended up losing. After the loss, Doncic just became the first player in NBA history to achieve a 40-point double-double in a double-digit loss in a season-opener. He also happens to be the first Laker to score 40+ points on opening night—the first to do so since Kobe Bryant in 2007.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Lakers couldn’t keep up with Luka.
For most of the second half, Luka Doncic was the only Laker who was able to make buckets. Austin Reaves caused some damage with 26 points, but it was too little, too late. Aside from the two of them, nobody scored more than 10 points. Deandre Ayton didn’t do well in his debut and recorded only 10 points and 6 rebounds in 34 minutes and a -25 in box plus/minus. This raises concerns about whether the Lakers should keep him or trade him before the deadline.
On the contrary, the Golden State Warriors, the second-oldest team in the NBA right now based on average player age, just made the Los Angeles Lakers look older. The team featuring four vets older than 35 years old (Curry, Butler, Green, Horford) was playing like they were just drafted this summer. They were sloppy and lackluster in the first minutes of the game, but quickly heated up and never looked back.
Jimmy Butler scored a team-high 31 points and made 16-for-16 from the free-throw line. Steph Curry had a slow and steady 23 points but erupted for the dagger three in the final seconds to seal the deal. On the other hand, Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield had 17 points apiece.
Although the opening game between the Warriors and the Lakers featured an MVP-form Luka, it looked like the 2022 champs were the younger and hungrier team. It’s still just one game, and the Lakers are used to dropping their season-openers even back then. Hopefully, this blowout loss won’t be a foreshadowing of another case of Luka Doncic averaging 40 points per game just to carry a sub-0.500 team to a first-round exit. Fingers crossed!
