The National Basketball Association announced on April 2 that Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic has been named the Western Conference Player of the Month for March. This marks the seventh time in Doncic’s career he has received this honor, and his second time during the current season after previously winning in January.
Doncic’s performance throughout March was notable for its consistency and high level of play. He averaged 37.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 2.3 steals per game while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and just under 40 percent from three-point range. Doncic scored at least 30 points in thirteen consecutive games and reached at least forty points in each of the Lakers’ last three contests.
One highlight during this period was a sixty-point game against the Miami Heat, where Doncic shot eighteen-of-thirty from the field and made nine three-pointers, also contributing seven rebounds, three assists, and five steals. In another game against Chicago Bulls a week earlier, he finished with fifty-one points, ten rebounds, and nine assists—just missing a triple-double—and later hit a game-winning shot in overtime to defeat the Denver Nuggets.
Doncic also set new records during March by surpassing Kobe Bryant’s franchise record for most points scored by a Laker in that month and joining Michael Jordan as one of only two players to score six hundred or more points in March NBA history.
The Lakers benefited as well from Doncic’s efforts with a fifteen-and-two record over March—including a nine-game win streak—and secured victories over several playoff-bound teams such as Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
While individual recognition continues to accumulate for Doncic—with many observers placing him among leading candidates for NBA Most Valuable Player—he has said his main focus is on helping his team succeed down the stretch of the season. Head coach JJ Redick has publicly supported Doncic’s MVP candidacy if both his performance level remains high and team results continue to be strong.