Luka Doncic made his return to Texas on Wednesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Dallas Mavericks in his first game against his former team.
Doncic didn’t ask to be traded so has understandably gone through an array of emotions since the deal went down, and that was again the case in his return to Dallas.
The Mavericks gave Doncic a tribute video when they introduced him as a starter for the Lakers, and he couldn’t help but tear up watching all of his best memories in Dallas.
The Mavs paid tribute to Luka Doncic, who is understandably emotional in his return to Dallas.
(via @SpectrumSN) pic.twitter.com/2vnS63alpa
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) April 9, 2025
Doncic wasn’t exactly sure what to expect playing in Dallas as a visitor for the first time, but he knew he was in for an emotional night.
“Of course, it’s going to be a lot of emotion for me. I don’t even know what to expect,” he said on Tuesday night. “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.”
Considering everything happened so quickly, Doncic hasn’t really had any closure since the trade.
“Honestly, I don’t know about closure. It’s obviously a lot.,” Doncic said. “But like I said, I’m excited to be back here. I know the fans can appreciate me being back here. But honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know how I’m gonna feel, but I’m just excited to be back.”
Hopefully Doncic got that closure on Wednesday night as Dallas fans showered him with love before and during the game.
LeBron James knew Luka Doncic would get big ovation in Dallas
LeBron James can relate to Luka Doncic in the sense that he left the Cleveland Cavaliers and then returned to play them. These circumstances are much different though since Doncic didn’t ask out, and because of that, James knew he would get a big ovation from Mavericks fans.
“His situation is gonna be totally different than mine. I think he’ll get a standing ovation and people will clap and cheer and he’ll hear his name a lot. That’s what I’m expecting. My situation was totally different, he had no choice in the matter of what happened with his situation. I did. So it will be totally different.”
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