Luka Dončić has scored 361 points in his first nine games of the 2026-27 season, an average of 40.1, after putting up 53 against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 6. Only one player has averaged more over a full season: Wilt Chamberlain, at 50.4 points in 1961-62 and 44.8 in 1962-63, according to Basketball-Reference. The Los Angeles Lakers are 8–2, first in the Western Conference.
Hover over any dot below to see the season. The farther right a dot is, the more points that player scored per shot.
Scoring more, on fewer misses
Dončić has made 110 of 221 shots (49.8%), 52 of 124 three-pointers (41.9%) and 89 of 102 free throws (87.3%). That works out to a true shooting percentage of 67.9%, a measure of points per shot that counts free throws and three-pointers. No player in the 30 highest-scoring seasons ever shot better. The closest was Joel Embiid at 65.5% in 2022-23, and Chamberlain's 50-point season came at 53.6%.
He is doing more than scoring, with 7.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.7 steals a game.
Six 40-point games in nine
Dončić opened with 28 and 23 points, then scored 52 at Utah and has not scored fewer than 37 since. He has six 40-point games and has averaged 44.3 points over his last seven. He missed the Lakers' Oct. 28 game against the Clippers, which they won 103-87.
Why it might not last
Nine games is a small sample, and hot starts usually cool. Dončić's last two full seasons, 33.9 points in 2023-24 and 33.5 in 2025-26, both rank among the 30 highest-scoring seasons ever. If he scored at last season's rate for the rest of a 70-game season, he would finish at about 34.3 points a game, which would still rank among the 20 highest-scoring seasons in history.
How we counted: Season scoring leaders and true shooting percentages are from Basketball-Reference's single-season points-per-game leaders, which include the NBA and ABA and require a minimum number of games (Elgin Baylor's 38.3 points in 1961-62, over 48 games, does not qualify). True shooting percentage is points divided by twice the sum of field-goal attempts and 0.44 times free-throw attempts. Game-by-game figures are from ESPN, through Nov. 6, 2026. Basketball-Reference leaders. ESPN game log. Download our data (CSV).