The Los Angeles Lakers are set to take on the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night in the second of a back-to-back, which will mark Luka Doncic’s return to American Airlines Center for the first time since the trade.
It’s expected to be a unique atmosphere as a star of Doncic’s caliber has never been traded without demanding it. Mavericks fans still have a lot of love for Luka and all of their anger in the aftermath has been directed at Dallas’ ownership and management.
That is with good reason as not only did the Mavericks trade Doncic out of nowhere, but then they made it a point to trash him on his way out.
As Doncic makes his return to Dallas though, the Mavericks are expected to give him a tribute video and are also giving out shirts that read “Thank you for everything” in Slovenian to fans:
Thank you for everything.#MFFL pic.twitter.com/ZpM0mP3EOQ
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 9, 2025
According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, the Mavericks tried to do more but Doncic’s camp understandably declined some sponsorship deals:
The franchise plans to play a tribute video for Doncic, sources said, providing fans in the arena a final opportunity to savor all of his accomplishments in a Mavs uniform — and mourn not getting more. Team sources told ESPN that the Mavs had also lined up lucrative sponsorship deals for Wednesday’s game, with multiple companies that Doncic endorses, but those deals fell apart after Doncic’s camp declined to give its blessing, pointedly noting that he now plays for the Lakers.
It will be interesting to see how the fans react on Wednesday night as they surely will want to show love to Doncic, but may also want to express their dismay at the Mavericks organization for trading him.
At the end of the day though, Doncic and the Lakers will be focused on coming away with a win as they need two more victories in their last three games to lock up the third seed in the Western Conference.
Luka Doncic expecting emotional return to Dallas
Luka Doncic had never been traded before, so he is not exactly sure what to expect when the Lakers play the Mavericks in Dallas. But he knows it will be an emotional night for him.
“Of course, it’s going to be a lot of emotion for me. I don’t even know what to expect. I don’t know how I’m going to feel, honestly. I know I’m looking forward to being back in Dallas, obviously with the fans, see my ex-teammates. It’s going to be very emotional for me for sure.”
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