Lakers star makes bold Luka Doncic declaration after he surpasses Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Walker Kessler has apparently seen enough.

Just 12 games into the NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers’ new center has already crowned his teammate Luka Doncic the best player in the NBA.

“He’s the best player in the league,” Kessler declared following the Lakers’ 124-114 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.

And after what Doncic accomplished, who could blame him?

Doncic’s streak of 40-point performances finally ended, but the Slovenian superstar still tormented Atlanta with 32 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, five steals and two blocks.

More importantly, he accomplished something neither Magic Johnson nor Kareem Abdul-Jabbar managed twice in a Lakers uniform.

Doncic became the first player in franchise history to record multiple games with at least 30 points, five assists, five steals and two blocks. Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar each accomplished the feat once.

Doncic has already done it twice in his first 10 games this season.

He also climbed into 10th place all-time for games featuring at least 30 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Of course, what else was Kessler supposed to say about his new pick-and-roll partner? That he’s the fifth-best player in basketball?

Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson and Anthony Edwards might have a few objections to Kessler’s declaration.

But with the Lakers sitting atop the NBA standings at 10-2, Doncic has something those other superstars don’t: the league’s best record, and an NBA-best scoring average of 40.1 points per game.

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