The Dallas Mavericks trading superstar guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers will forever go down as one of, if not the most, shocking trade in the history of the NBA. Not only did it come as a complete shock to the sports world, but it was also a major surprise to Doncic himself.
Luka had no desire to be traded from the Mavericks and he has spoken about how he wanted to play his entire career in Dallas. By now, he has accepted and grown to enjoy being in Los Angeles and a member of the Lakers franchise, but initially it was difficult for the 26-year-old.
And the Lakers superstar spoke on this again in an interview with Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal. Doncic said he didn’t know how to react to the trade when it happened and didn’t want to disappoint fans of the Mavericks or the Lakers:
“I didn’t know how to react, how to act, what to say,” Doncic tells me. “It was a lot of shock. I felt Dallas was my home. I had many friends there. The fans always supported me. I didn’t want to upset Dallas fans. And I didn’t want to upset Laker fans.”
It was a weird situation for Doncic, but one that he handled well and it was quickly obvious that the decision to trade him was one made solely by the Mavericks organization. And while Mavericks fans were rightfully angry and distraught at the move, their anger was directed only to the Dallas front office, hence why he was still cheered greatly when he returned to Dallas for the first time as a member of the Lakers.
Luka had forged a special connection with the Mavericks fans and he is already beginning to do so with Lakers fans as well. The Lakers organization has done everything possible to make Doncic feel welcome in L.A. and the fans have shown nothing but love and that will only continue, especially if he can bring the Lakers another championship.
Luka Doncic lays out goal for Lakers in 2025-26 season
The Lakers have always been a franchise about winning championships and anything short of that is continued a failure. The 2025-26 season will be Luka Doncic’s first full year with the franchise and he will be the leader of this team. And thankfully, he has the same mindset on goals and expectations for this team.
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