Luka Doncic played against his former team for the first time since being traded on Tuesday night when the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena.
It was a difficult night for Doncic, who admitted he was happy for it to be over after the game. The 25-year-old naturally dealt with a lot of emotions that he had trouble processing.
Doncic at least enjoyed seeing and catching up with his former teammates, most notably Kyrie Irving who led all scorers with 35 points in the game. When asked about what it was like to play against Doncic, Irving had a blunt response.
“Awkward as shit,” Irving said. “It was awkward, but it was fun. We felt like we were in practice all over again. Going at each other. And seeing the crowd cheer for him and get him going. And seeing the tough shots I’ve seen him make thousands of times — that’s probably even more awkward.”
While Irving and Doncic were only teammates in Dallas for two years, they clearly have built a strong bond that goes beyond the game.
“For me, I think there was respect there before playing together,” Irving said. “But playing with him, he’s just an innocent kid. Ultra talented. Whole world is in front of him. You want to protect people like that too. Because I feel like sometimes people come at him crazy. And he responds in his own way. He’s not from America. He’s not used to the culture here. My goal is to just protect him. That’s why it goes deeper than basketball.”
Doncic and Irving were playing together in the NBA Finals less than a year ago, so it’s fair for both of them to still be questioning the trade and the reasoning behind it.
For Doncic, he was just happy to see his former teammate and close friend, even if they’re now wearing different uniforms.
“Kyrie is my hermano,” Doncic said. “We go way beyond basketball. It was good to see those guys. We went to wars together, and it was really fun to see them all.”
Mavericks continue to trash Luka Doncic
When the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers, they made it clear they had concerns about his work ethic and conditioning to be the long-term face of their franchise. Even weeks after the trade, the Mavericks are still leaking similar reports about their concerns regarding Doncic.
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