Lakers' Walker Kessler calls Luka Doncic the NBA's best player after a franchise first
Luka Doncic set a Lakers first in Monday's win at Atlanta, and Walker Kessler called him the NBA's best player. Next up for 10-2 Los Angeles: Milwaukee.
Walker Kessler has seen enough of Luka Doncic up close to make up his mind. After Monday's 124-114 Lakers win in Atlanta, the center called his new pick-and-roll partner the best player in the NBA, the New York Post reported. The Post's story was also carried by Yahoo Sports.
Kessler said it on the night Doncic did something no Laker had done before. His run of 40-point games ended against the Hawks, but he still finished with 32 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, five steals and two blocks. That made him the first player in franchise history with more than one game of at least 30 points, five assists, five steals and two blocks. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar each did it once. According to the Post, Doncic now has two such games in his first 10 appearances this season. Monday's line also moved him into 10th place all-time in games with at least 30 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Kessler's claim will draw pushback. As the Post pointed out, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson and Anthony Edwards all have cases of their own. Still, Doncic leads the league at 40.1 points per game, and the Lakers have the league's best record. Those two facts make Kessler's view easy to defend, at least for the first month of the season.
The Lakers are not winning on scoring alone. Doncic is also forcing turnovers, and his five steals in Atlanta came on a night when Los Angeles held a team under 115 for the second time in its last four games. If his defensive numbers stay anywhere close to this, the comparisons to franchise greats will keep coming.
What it means for Milwaukee
The Lakers take a 10-2 record and a six-game winning streak into Wednesday night's game against the Bucks in Milwaukee. Their last loss was a 112-95 defeat at Golden State. Since then they have beaten Toronto, Miami, Sacramento, Portland, Detroit and Atlanta.
The streak has been driven by offense. Los Angeles has scored at least 116 points in all six of those wins, averaging about 125.7 points a game against roughly 115.5 allowed. The defense has been less consistent. Toronto put up 125, and Portland, Detroit and Atlanta all finished between 114 and 118. That leaves little room for error if the shots stop falling.
The Lakers have been just as good on the road as at home. They are 5-1 away from Crypto.com Arena and 5-1 at home, and the wins in Detroit and Atlanta came on back-to-back stops of this trip. Milwaukee is the next stop. The Lakers lost only twice in their first 12 games, and both losses came on nights when their offense went cold or their defense couldn't get stops. The 95-point game at Golden State is the only time all season they finished below 100.
The Lakers have already split two games with Portland, and they lead the league in the standings. Wednesday will show whether Doncic and Kessler can keep this up against a new opponent.