Luka Dončić poured in 42 points Monday as the Los Angeles Lakers rolled past the Miami Heat 138-117 at Crypto.com Arena. That marked his fifth straight outing with at least 37 points, tied for the most by a Laker since Kobe Bryant, nullifying Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team-high 30-point effort.

The sensational run fueled early MVP buzz around the Lakers superstar, in a race that opened with Victor Wembanyama as the betting favorite.

Dončić shot a blistering 14-for-24 (58.3%), including 6-for-15 from 3 (40%), adding a season-high 13 assists, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals in 36 minutes. His latest offensive masterclass left some proclaiming him the “best player in the world,” while others pondered where he ranks among the greatest scorers of all time.

Luka Dončić’s Electric Scoring Run Draws MVP Hype, All-Time Great Talk

Dončić’s scoring surge began with his season-high 52-point eruption in LA’s 132-123 road win over the Utah Jazz on Oct. 25. The six-time All-Star hasn’t dipped below 37 points since, with Monday’s performance marking his fourth 40-point effort in five games, despite the Lakers playing on the second night of a back-to-back.

The two-time NBA scoring champion has amassed 217 points during that stretch, averaging a staggering 43.4 points per game on efficient 53.2/44.7/89.1 shooting splits. The scoring tear has increased his season average to 38.3 ppg across seven appearances and helped propel the Lakers to a strong 6-2 start.

Legion Hoops kept its take simple, sharing Dončić’s five-game scoring average and urging fans to “appreciate greatness.”

Content creator Ahmed/The Ears paired the 27-year-old’s last five stat lines with a blunt verdict: “The best player in the world. The MVP.”

Lakers All Day Everyday’s Aron Cohen echoed that sentiment, adding, “Luka is playing like the MVP of this league thus far.”

That case runs directly into Wembanyama. The San Antonio Spurs phenom entered the season atop most MVP predictions, followed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić.

Wembanyama’s Spurs sit at 5-2, a half-game behind the Lakers, with the 7-foot-4 big man posting similarly otherworldly numbers.

Still, one fan scoffed at the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year’s MVP hopes:

“Not falling for that Wemby propaganda. If Luka don’t win MVP this year, we gon find you [Adam] Silver.”

Dončić’s imprint reaches beyond the scoring column. The Athletic’s Dan Woike wrote, “In the seven games this season that Luka Dončić has played, the Lakers have outscored their opponents by 113 points with him on the court.”

The Slovenian has posted a positive plus-minus in all seven appearances, including both losses. Monday’s plus-26 followed a plus-27 showing against the Toronto Raptors a night earlier.

For some, Dončić’s command of the offense and tough shot-making ability have elevated him in all-time discussions. Influencer Brett Usher posted, “Sometimes when I watch Luka, I have to ask myself: is this the best offensive player I’ve ever seen?”

Showtime Luka went further, declaring, “I’m gonna say it once again, we are witnessing the highest offensive peak of any player in NBA history. Luka Dončić is not human.”

Dončić’s next chance to extend his eye-popping scoring run comes on the road Wednesday against the defensively challenged Sacramento Kings (1-6), giving him a prime opportunity to build on his early MVP case.