Luka Doncic’s Scoring Spree Has A Deeper Story As JJ Redick Reveals What Drives The Lakers Star

Luka Doncic continues to dominate with his scoring brilliance for the Lakers© Ben Liebenberg/Getty Images/AFP

Luka Doncic is scoring at a pace the NBA has rarely seen, and Lakers coach JJ Redick says the cause is easy to find. Before Monday's game, his star led the league at 40.1 points per game. Los Angeles then beat Atlanta 124-114 to improve to 10-2. Redick spoke before tip-off and described a player driven by winning, not by stats. The 27-year-old guard backed it up with 32 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and the league also named Doncic a Player of the Week for the first time this season.

Luka Doncic's Scoring Run Comes From Competing, Says JJ Redick

Redick sees Luka Doncic as a player wired to win. “To me, he is first a competitor,” Redick said, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. “You see it in everything he does throughout his daily life and his existence. He just loves competing.”

The coach then explained how it shows up in games. “I think when he gets on a basketball court, the first priority is to try to win. And he does a great job figuring out on a night to night basis what levers to pull.”

Redick also pushed back on the idea of a pure shot hunter. “It's not just hunt, hunt, hunt, hunt [to score]. He reads the game.”

The Hawks saw it firsthand. They sent hard double teams late, and Doncic kept finding the right pass. Atlanta never got close enough to matter. Redick added another reason for the hot start. “He's just very clearheaded right now,” he said. “I think it's as much mental and spiritual as (anything).”

The Lakers have won nine of their first 11 games before the Hawks win, and they took both games Doncic missed.

Doncic Finally Gets Western Conference Player Of The Week Nod

The award covers Week 3. TY Jerome won it in Week 1 and Victor Wembanyama took it in Week 2, so Doncic was passed over twice despite the numbers. Jalen Brunson won the East this time.

Doncic played three games in the window, and the Lakers won all of them. He scored 42 against Miami, 40 against Sacramento and 53 against Portland. He is shooting 49.8% from the field and 41.9% from three. He is also putting in more work on defense, the area where critics have pushed hardest.