Luka Dončić leaves NBA stars raving: "Some video game s***!"
Dallas, Texas - Luka Dončić was hailed by the great and the good of the NBA after the Mavericks' superstar player recorded the league's first 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double.
Dončić sensationally led Dallas to an overtime win against the New York Knicks on Tuesday, requiring an historic performance to overturn a big late deficit.
The 23-year-old stepped up to another level entirely – not just for his career, but for the NBA as a whole.
No player had previously had 60 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in the same game. In fact, since Wilt Chamberlain retired in 1973, no player had achieved each of those three statistics in separate games across a single season.
Dončić finished with 60, 21 and 10, prompting Mavs owner Mark Cuban to post on Twitter: "We are watching greatness @luka7doncic. I've never seen anything like that ever."
"The history of the game is written by the players, and it was written again tonight," said coach Jason Kidd.
Kristaps Porzingis, Dončić's former Dallas team-mate, wrote: "60/20/10?? This guy is not normal."
Opponents pay tribute to "monster" Dončić
It was not just those with connections to the Mavs who were marvelling at the record-setting Slovenian, however.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau rued coming up against a "monster player", while former MVP Kevin Garnett referenced the recent unveiling of a Dirk Nowitzki statue in Dallas as he said: "It'll be another statue in Dallas... Luka is like that!"
Paul Pierce, Garnett's team-mate on the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, chimed in: "Luka is the best offensive player in the league. I said offensive. Think about it."
And current Nets star Kevin Durant, himself among the favorites for this season's MVP title, added his own praise: "That was a MyCareer type performance from Luka tonight. Some video game shit"
Cover photo: USA TODAY Sports