The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten off to such a hot start in the 2026-27 season, and that's thanks in large part to the heater Luka Doncic has been on all season long to this point. Doncic entered play on Monday against the Atlanta Hawks with a league-leading average of 40.1 points per game — scoring at a rate that's simply unprecedented, even amongst the most elite bucket-getters in the history of the NBA.

The Lakers, with Doncic going on a scoring binge, have won nine of their first 11 games, and Doncic has even missed two of those games — both Purple and Gold victories. Not everybody may be a fan of Doncic's heliocentric style of play and overall dominance of the basketball, but head coach JJ Redick knows that giving the ball to the 27-year-old superstar is a surefire recipe for success.

In fact, Redick mentioned that Doncic's motivation to score as many points as possible comes from his burning desire to lead the Lakers to as many victories as he can.

“To me, he is first a competitor. You see it in everything he does throughout his daily life and his existence. He just loves competing. 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 said prior to the Lakers' 124-114 victory over the Hawks on Monday, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“It’s not just hunt, hunt, hunt, hunt [to score]. He reads the game.”

JJ Redick on how much scoring a lot of points is a motivation for Luka Doncic in the context of winning: “To me, he is first a competitor … The first priority is to try to win … It’s not just hunt, hunt, hunt, hunt [to score]. He reads the game” pic.twitter.com/I2RHpq6GMS

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 10, 2026

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This could not have been more apparent than how Doncic played to end the Lakers' most recent victory. The Hawks were sending aggressive double teams to get the ball out of his hands, and he always made the right read. They kept Atlanta at bay as a result and have now moved to 10-2 on the season.

The scoring threat that Doncic possesses is immense, and it opens up so much for the Lakers on the offensive end. On Monday, Doncic put up 32 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.