Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki was as surprised as the rest of us to learn the franchise he called home for 21 seasons traded away Luka Doncic earlier this month.
Dirk passed the torch to Luka as the face of Dallas‘ organization and he fully expected the Slovenian-born superstar to finish his career there just like he did.
But when Doncic was shipped off to Los Angeles, Nowitzki made sure to be there for his mentee as he took on a new challenge with the Lakers — while also making it clear where his allegiances lie.
“When I saw the news I was actually all across on the other side of the world. I was on vacation with the family in the Maldives,” Dirk revealed on 96.7 The Ticket. “My phone just starts blowing up left and right and then I kind of looked on social media and I think I was as shocked and surprised as everyone was.”
Dirk on his text exchange with Luka Doncic following the trade:
“He invited me to come out to his first game in LA… He was pretty down & disappointed on how it went down, so I wanted to be there for him.”
“But you guys saw my face…it was weird.” pic.twitter.com/MGEUkI9fXH
— Michelle Montaine (@michmontaine) February 22, 2025
“He invited me to come out to his first game in LA and I felt like I had to support him,” Nowitzki added.
“I felt like — you know, I played with him my last season, we’ve gotten close. I’ve tried to mentor him, I’ve tried to help him as much as I can the last few years and he’s a good kid. So I felt like I had to go out there and support him in this new chapter.”
The Hall of Famer admitted it was a bit “weird” and “surreal” to be in Los Angeles cheering on Luka in a different uniform. But maintained, “at the end of the day, you know I’ll never be a Lakers fan, but I’ll always be a Luka fan.”
Folks in Dallas are still trying to come to terms with the team trading away a player of Luka’s caliber — to the LA Lakers no less.
But although he’s no longer a Maverick, Nowitzki and others will always cheer on No. 77 and wish him all the success in his new colors.
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