The game that the entire basketball world was waiting for finally happened as Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic made his long-awaited return to Dallas to play against his former team the Mavericks.
The Mavericks’ decision to trade Doncic to the Lakers shook the entire NBA and the ripple effects could be felt for years by both franchises. It’s unprecedented for a player like Doncic to be moved without a trade request, though the Lakers certainly won’t complain about acquiring someone who can be the franchise’s next face after LeBron James retires.
In Doncic’s first game back in Dallas, the superstar showed off why Dallas was foolish to trade him as he routinely scored over defenders and made tough shots to give Los Angeles a win. Although he was clearly emotional throughout the evening, Doncic was able to play through it and give the Lakers a top-six playoff berth in the process.
Following the win, the Slovenian star discussed how emotional it was for him to play against the Mavericks and how he finally feels it’s time to move on, via NBA and ESPN:
“Everybody saw me the way I reacted to the video. All these fans, I really appreciate it, man. All the teammates I had, everybody had my back. I’m just happy. I love these fans, I love this city but it’s time to move on.”
Doncic continued to emphasize what he was feeling being back and how much his time with the Mavericks meant to him:
“So many emotions, can’t even explain it. Brought tears to my eyes, like I said I came here as a young kid here at 18 and not know what to expect from NBA and they made me feel at home. It’s just a lot of great, great memories.”
The 26-year-old also admitted he wasn’t sure how he was going to play such an emotionally-charged game but credited his teammates for being there for him:
“I don’t know how I did it because when I was watching that video I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m playing this game.’ But all my teammates had my back, they were really supporting me so I really appreciate that.”
Overall, Doncic did about as well as anyone could have hoped given the circumstances. Now that this game is behind him, hopefully he can feel more at peace.
Luka Doncic feels disrespected by work ethic coming into question
It was jarring to see some of the comments come out from members of the Dallas Mavericks organization following the Luka Doncic trade. People like Mavericks Patrick Dumont and general manager Nico Harrison alluded to Doncic’s work ethic and conditioning as the key reasons why they were OK to trade the superstar.
While Doncic has yet to say a negative word publicly about Dallas, he did admit he felt disrespected when they singled out his work ethic.
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