Emotions ran high on Wednesday night as Luka Doncic returned to face the Dallas Mavericks for the first time at American Airlines Center since the blockbuster trade that sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. The Mavericks made Doncic an incredible tribute video, detailing his seven years with the franchise. They played it during starting lineup introductions, before Doncic dropped 45 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals in a Lakers win.
The entire Lakers team helped lift Doncic and support him throughout what was sure to be a difficult one. They cheered alongside Mavericks fans when he had a big moment on the court and when he checked out for the final time. It was, in a way, the final closure on the seven-year chapter.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves has seen much of everything first-hand over the last two months, as he has ascended himself to third star territory next to Doncic and LeBron James. He gave his perspective on the night and what he felt watching Luka go through the emotions, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“To be honest with you, I didn’t want to look at him because I knew he was gonna be emotional, as anybody was. I was watching the video at basically the sideline over by Bron and I was getting goosebumps, emotional. I knew if I looked at him, it would be more. So I kind of just kept my eyes up and I think everybody had the same reaction. But for him to go out and have a performance like that, you can tell with how the stadium reacted how much he meant to this community, to this team. I’m just happy he’s on our team now.”
Reaves then talked about what Wednesday’s performance proved about Doncic as a player and a person, praising him for everything he does when the lights are brightest:
“We know we got somebody that can go win us a game on any day. Like JJ said, he’s a killer. I expected this from him tonight, to be honest with you. That’s just who he’s been since he’s been in the league. Anytime he gets challenged, he responds in a positive way and just continues to get better. It’s really just a beautiful thing to see if you enjoy basketball. To see somebody dominate the game like he does offensively is really a beautiful thing.”
Luka is one of the best basketball players in the world, and he continues to show it night in and night out. But for him to do that with the emotions running as high as they did on Wednesday is truly another level. Reaves, and the entire Lakers organization, could sense that.
Luka Doncic: It’s time to move on
Luka Doncic showed his love and appreciation for all the Mavericks fans in attendance to support him. But at the end, the Lakers superstar concluded that it’s time to move on from that chapter and focus on his future in L.A.
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