For nearly a decade, the Los Angeles Lakers have largely been considered LeBron James’ squad. He powered through two seasons of heartbreak before pairing with Anthony Davis to win the 2020 NBA championship. Many thought his legacy would last longer. However, Luka Doncic seems to be eclipsing his accolades in Hollywood by reaching even higher heights. One testament to this is the new superstar’s insane game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Doncic usurps James in Lakers history amid loss to Trail Blazers
Losses usually don’t come with great news. The Lakers had a chance to keep their perfect record through four regular-season games against the Trail Blazers. However, things just were not in their favor. Ja Morant, Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, and Deni Avdija all popped off.
For the Lakers, Luka Doncic was mostly the one keeping their offense alive. This effort to keep Coach JJ Redick’s schemes running was not all for nothing. Despite the unfortunate 136-129 loss to the Trail Blazers, Doncic still notched a record that LeBron James once held.
Doncic has now recorded his 20th career 40-point game for the Lakers. This puts him above James in the Purple and Gold’s all-time rankings. He now ranks sixth all-time among all Lakers players, per StatMuse.
Luka Doncic vs Trail Blazers: 41 PTS 9 AST 5 REB 1 BLK 74 TS% https://t.co/LTmI9lruCN
— Laker Performances (@LALPerformance) October 28, 2026
The all-time rankings for Lakers 40-point games are as follows.
| Rank | Name | No. of 40-point games |
| 1. | Kobe Bryant | 122 |
| 2. | Elgin Baylor | 88 |
| 3. | Jerry Wesr | 66 |
| 4. | Shaquille O’Neal | 26 |
| 5. | George Mikan | 23 |
| 6. | Luka Doncic | 20 |
| 7. | LeBron James | 18 |
| 8. | Anthony Davis | 15 |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 15 | |
| 11. | Gail Goodrich | 11 |
| 12 | Magic Johnson | 6 |
It will not be surprising if Doncic also usurps both George Mikan and Shaquille O’Neal in this list by the end of the 2026-27 NBA season.
Doncic was doing everything to keep the Lakers afloat against the Trail Blazers. He attempted 22 shots and went 54.5% from the field and 40% from three-point range. More than that, he created opportunities for other Lakers on the floor. He added nine assists, helping Austin Reaves pop off for 26 points and Sandro Mamukelashvili for 17 points.
Unfortunately, only five Lakers players managed to score more than 10 points against the Trail Blazers. In contrast, six Portland players scored 10 or more points, and four of them scored more than 20.
Doncic getting 40 points and usurping James from an all-time Lakers list is great. However, Coach Redick needs to find a way for their offense to thrive without relying so heavily on heliocentrism.
