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Luka Doncic’s latest gift to Dallas Mavericks fans was deep 3-pointer on Christmas night that pushed him past 10,000 career points.
Doncic reached the milestone against the Phoenix Suns in his 358th career game, which ties Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo for the seventh-fewest games to reach 10,000 points.
Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain is the fastest to score 10,000 — in 236 games, followed by fellow HOFers Michael Jordan (303), Elgin Baylor (315), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (319), Oscar Robertson (334) and George Gervin (355).
Doncic entered the game 11 points shy of 10,000. He needed only seven minutes to get there, passing the milestone on a 34-foot 3-pointer.
“He’s one of the best in the world,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “As I’ve always said, we can’t take him for granted. When he’s feeling it, you’re just trying to get him the ball as much as possible.”
At 24 years, 300 days old, Doncic is the sixth-youngest player to reach 10,000 points behind LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady.
Doncic finished with 50 points on 15-for-25 shooting in the Mavs’ 128-114 victory. He’s the fourth player in NBA history to score at least 50 in a game on Christmas Day, joining Bernard King (60 in 1984), Chamberlain (59 in 1961) and Rick Barry (50 in 1966).
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.