On April 9, 2025, Luka Doncic made his return to Dallas to play against the Mavericks at American Airlines Center for the first time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
It was an emotional night all around as the shock of the Mavericks trading him to the Lakers just two months prior was still very real. When news broke of the deal to send Doncic to L.A. for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round draft pick on Feb. 1, everyone assumed it wasn’t real.
Doncic had just taken the Mavericks to the NBA Finals the season before and the then-25-year-old was expecting to spend his entire career in Dallas.
By April 9 though, Doncic had finally started to get comfortable with his new team, putting the trade behind him and focusing on leading L.A. back to glory. Despite that though, all of those emotions came rushing back to him pregame when the Mavericks played a tribute video of his greatest moments. Doncic was seen tearing up on the Lakers bench as the Dallas fans showered him with love.
Once the game started, however, it was all business for Doncic. He led the Lakers to a 112-97 victory while dropping 45 points on his former teammates, shooting 16-for-28 from the field and 7-for-10 from deep to go along with eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the court, Davis struggled in his first game against his former team as the Lakers limited him 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting with 11 rebounds and six assists.
As the game went on, the anger of Dallas fans did not dissipate as chants of “Fire Nico!” directed as then-Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison grew louder and louder. It was definitely a unique environment for a basketball game, but Doncic and the Lakers ultimately came out on top and clinch a berth in the 2025 postseason as a result.
Luka Doncic appreciated teammates having his back in return to Dallas
The Lakers stepped into a hostile environment in Doncic’s first return to Dallas as Mavericks fans were still really upset about the trade. While the anger wasn’t directed at Doncic, the tension was easy to feel in the building, and the Lakers star appreciated his teammates having his back throughout the night.
“Big time because they all had my back,” Doncic said of his teammates at the time. “That’s what we talked about before the game and everybody had my back, from coaches to players. We’re trying to build something special here, and that was really, really nice to see.”
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