It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for the Dallas Mavericks.
After trading away face-of-the-franchise Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, the vibes in Dallas have been rough. Fans have protested general manager Nico Harrison over the trade, and been ejected from games after publicly calling for his firing.
The new players brought to Dallas in the deal—Anthony Davis and Max Christie—have had to deal with the awkward tension that comes with the crowd knowing their presence meant Luka’s absence.
But despite all the noise, the Mavericks are playing pretty good basketball right now, winning three of their past four games, including a 111–107 win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.
Leading the way for the Mavs in the new era has been Kyrie Irving, whose veteran presence has become even more important since Doncic’s departure. After the win over the Warriors, in which he dropped 42 points and seven rebounds, Irving joined ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter and opened up about how he felt the franchise could best move forward.
“We’ve just got to give each other some grace,” Irving said, echoing his postgame comments from a few days ago. “When fandom rises, or fanaticism, people are cheering for their home team or people that they love, and then they change teams, you’ve just got to give them grace.
“We’re just going to put our best foot forward, for not only Dallas, but for the rest of the world watching and supporting us.”
Appreciate @KyrieIrving explaining to SVP what it’s been like since Luka was traded. pic.twitter.com/ocgEZrs0H8
— Stanford Steve (@StanfordSteve82) February 13, 2025
With the win, the Mavericks moved to 29–26 on the season, good for eighth place in the Western Conference. They’ll be in action again on Thursday night against the Miami Heat.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kyrie Irving Makes Heartfelt Plea to Mavs Fans After Luka Doncic Trade.
