The rippling effects of the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers are still being felt weeks after the blockbuster move as fans from both teams look ahead to uncertain futures for their respective organizations.
One lifelong Mavericks fan—and franchise legend—was Dirk Nowitzki, who showed up to Doncic’s first game as a Laker earlier this month.
Nowitzki opened up about his reaction to the shocking trade on 96.7 The Ticket on Friday and revealed that he found out the news while vacationing with his family in the Maldives. Like nearly everyone else, he “really couldn't believe it.”
The Mavericks great went on to talk about his text thread with Doncic and how he wanted to support the All-Star guard in the next chapter of his NBA career.
“We texted a bit, of course I felt a little disappointed and sad for him, you know, I think he obviously didn’t see this coming,” Nowitzki said. “So he invited me to come out to his first game in L.A. and I felt like I had to support him.
“I think he was—I mean it was reported that—he was pretty down and disappointed in how it went down, and so I wanted to be there for him, I wanted to be there for his family… I’m sure he wanted to finish his career like I did.”
Dirk on his text exchange with Luka Doncic following the trade:
— Michelle Montaine (@michmontaine) February 22, 2025
"He invited me to come out to his first game in LA... He was pretty down & disappointed on how it went down, so I wanted to be there for him."
"But you guys saw my face...it was weird." pic.twitter.com/MGEUkI9fXH
Doncic has appeared in three games for the Lakers so far but has struggled with his production, as well as with turnovers, having only recently returned to the court following his calf injury. The 25-year-old will likely continue building chemistry with ball-dominant teammate LeBron James and will get his first chance to prove the doubters in Dallas’ organization wrong with the highly anticipated Lakers-Mavericks matchup coming up next Tuesday.
Regardless of what happens in that game, Doncic will always have one die-hard fan for life.
“At the end of the day, I’ll never be a Lakers fan, but I’ll always be a Luka fan,” Nowitzki said.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dirk Nowitzki Admits Luka Doncic Was ‘Pretty Down’ After Trade to Lakers.
