Wednesday night marks Luka Doncic’s first game back in Dallas since the trade that rocked the NBA world ahead of this season’s deadline.
April 9 has been circled on a lot of people’s calendars given how Doncic was treated on his way out the door — and all eyes will almost certainly be on Mavs GM Nico Harrison if/when the five-time All-Star starts cooking.
Mavericks fans have made it clear whose side they’re on when it comes to Luka vs. the franchise and that was confirmed during Luka’s pregame warmups.
Luka hit the pregame halfcourt shot and the Dallas crowd went wild 🙌 pic.twitter.com/wOLsUdCXNv
— ESPN (@espn) April 9, 2025
It didn’t take long for Doncic’s halfcourt shot to go viral online.
“It’s insulting to fans for the Mavs to pretend to honor Luka after calling him fat and trading him away,” a user pointed out. “Ownership and management is a total clown show.”
“Nico is the worst GM in NBA History,” another claimed.
“dont leave,” a Mavs fan pleaded.
“What a shot,” another person said.
“Home crowd favorite,” another user commented.
“Dallas doesn’t have a chance.”
“Why would Dallas trade away the guy who’s going to be the best player in the NBA for the next eight years?” another fan asked.
“Tonight’s gonna be a tough one for the mavs fans.. deep down even mav fans will want lakers and luka to cook tonight to teach nico harrison a lesson. Fans will never ever forgive ownership for this trade.”
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Luka dropped 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists the first time he and his former team met in Los Angeles — along with three steals and two blocks on the way to a 107-99 win.
He may be looking to double-up on each of those totals to really stick it to the Mavericks and give his fans a show come 7:30 PM ET on ESPN.
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