Luka Dončić exploded for a season-high 53 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 124-118 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. It was his fourth straight game of at least 40 points, pushing his scoring average to 40.1 through his nine appearances.

Amid the run, former Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem offered a glowing verdict of his own on the Lakers star.

Heat Legend Udonis Haslem Weighs Luka Dončić Against Everything He Has Seen

Haslem built his verdict on a long view of the game. “We’ve seen a lot of basketball guys. I don’t know if we’ve seen none like this,” he said. “That’s not to take away from the greats that have played this game, but I’ve not seen a guy that has not been stopped with two guys, has not been stopped with three guys.”

The three-time NBA champion then turned to what happens when defenses send extra bodies at the Lakers star, before landing on a blunt description.

“I keep telling you, Apex Predator, you got the Sharks, you got the Alligators, and then you put Luka’s face right next to em. I mean, he’s a savage man.”

Dončić’s current run started November 1, when he posted 45 points and 15 rebounds against the Toronto Raptors. He followed with 42 points and 13 assists against Haslem’s former team, the Heat, on Monday, then scored 40 at Sacramento on Wednesday.

Friday’s outing was the biggest of the four. Dončić shot 17-of-33 from the field, 5-of-15 from the 3-point range in 38 minutes. With the Lakers down 60-53 at halftime, he poured in 20 points in the third quarter alone as Los Angeles carried an 87-75 lead into the fourth before holding on.

The night made Dončić just the fourth Laker to score at least 40 in four consecutive games, joining Kobe Bryant, Elgin Baylor, and George Mikan.

The surge has come in Dončić’s first season since LeBron James left for the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason, and the Lakers have leaned on him heavily.

At 27, he is averaging a career high, well above the 33.9 points per game he posted with the Dallas Mavericks in 2023-24. The last player to average 40 or more over a full season was Wilt Chamberlain, in 1962-63.

Blazers coach Micah Nori had made his own case before tipoff, calling Dončić “the MVP right now” and adding, “Hands down.”

Lakers coach JJ Redick offered an assessment close to Haslem’s: “Luka can do some things that maybe a handful, if not no one, can do in basketball.”

Dončić, for his part, kept the run in perspective after Friday’s game. “It’s obviously a long season. We’re 10 games in. We’ve got 72 left. As long as we’re winning, I’m good. … Hopefully, it continues, but you never know.”

His next chance to stretch the streak to five could come Sunday when the Lakers, who share the Western Conference’s best record at 8-2 with the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, visit the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.

It is the first half of a back-to-back, with the Atlanta Hawks waiting Monday night, and the start of a four-game road trip that will put Haslem’s verdict to the test against a new set of defenses.