Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic kicked off the 2025-26 with a stellar performance. Even though it was in a losing effort to the Golden State Warriors, Doncic finished with a game-high 43 points on 17-of-27 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and one block.
His 43 points rank third-most all-time in a season opener by a Laker, and the most since Kobe Bryant (45 points) on Oct. 30, 2007 against the Houston Rockets. That was also in a losing effort as Bryant scored nearly half of the Lakers’ points in a 95-93 defeat.