Teary-eyed Luka Dončić makes first return to Dallas since Lakers trade
That Slovenian phrase translates to 'thank you for everything.'
Then came the tribute, a video of Dončić's time with the Mavericks after the rest of the Lakers starting lineup had been introduced Wednesday night before his first game back in Dallas.
That left Dončić alone on the bench for more than two minutes looking up to some of his many highlights in Dallas – from his NBA rookie of the year season into last year's NBA finals – though he didn't make it all the way through before putting his head down and wiping away tears. His eyes were still red once he was introduced and came on the court with his teammates who surrounded him, including several hugs.
Luka got emotional watching his tribute video from the Mavs 🥹 pic.twitter.com/ySim9PqNUg
Everyone knew it was going to be an emotional night with Dončić wearing his No 77 jersey for the Lakers. It was for both the 26-year-old from Slovenia and those Mavericks fans who were there when he wore that number in Mavericks blue the first five and a half seasons of his career.
Right after tipoff, the chant 'Fire Nico' broke out, directed toward Nico Harrison, the Mavericks general manager who traded Dončić. That chant got louder and longer in the first quarter, when Dončić already had 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
'That first time back is always emotional and there's no predicting how you're going to feel,' Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game. 'Whether you sit and think about it for days like Dallas has or whether it's a back-to-back, the emotions and the feelings are still going to be there.'
Dončić's return comes two months after that seismic trade out of nowhere. He had been the face of the Mavericks, and he was the NBA scoring champion last season when they made it to the NBA finals. The 2019 rookie of the year had two seasons left on his contract before the trade the first weekend of February in a package that brought Anthony Davis to Dallas.
'Honestly, I don't know about closure. It's obviously a lot,' Dončić said after a loss at Oklahoma City on Tuesday night. 'I know the fans are going to appreciate me being back here. Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to feel, but I'm just excited to be back.'
Not long before the sold-out game, tickets on the secondary market for upper-level seats were still listed for more than $200, excluding fees. For the Mavericks final home game Friday night against Toronto, similar tickets were available for less than $20 before fees.
Mavericks fans conducted a mock funeral outside the American Airlines Center on 2 February, right after news of the trade late the previous night. There have been protests and plenty of ire directed at Harrison, including 'Fire Nico!' showing up on plenty of signs and T-shirts. As for the GM, he hasn't spoken to the media since comments he made right after the deal was done when he said he felt the team was 'built to win now as well as in the future'
While there were no organized protests outside the arena before the game, plenty of people wore No 77 jerseys – both the purple and gold ones of the Lakers and Mavericks jerseys as well, though some of those home ones had the Dallas logo covered up. There were even some Slovenia jerseys.
One fan sitting a couple of rows behind the Dallas bench had a Mavericks No 77 jersey, but had 'Lakers' written on duct tape covering up the logo. A fan outside wore a Los Angeles jersey with duct tape covering the Lakers logo that read 'Former Mavs fan'.
This isn't the first time Dončić played the Mavericks. He had a triple-double (19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists) in the Lakers' 107-99 home win on 25 February, only 23 days after the trade.
After that game, Dončić struggled for the words to express how strange it was to play against the Mavs.
'It was so weird,' Dončić said then. 'There were moments I felt like I don't know what I was doing.'
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