Fans at the American Airlines Center were not pulling any punches on Wednesday during Luka Doncic's emotional return to his old stomping grounds in Dallas.
Clearly still unhappy with the organization's decision to trade Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks fans were ripping into general manager Nico Harrison, frequently chanting "Fire Nico!" throughout the game.
Things got so testy that the Mavs started displaying the Fan Code of Conduct on the jumbotron at the arena, discouraging fans from harping on Harrison and partaking in other kinds of "disruptive behavior."
NBA Fan Code of Conduct now being displayed during free throws. pic.twitter.com/avkOaAQFnp
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) April 10, 2025
The list of rules on the code of conduct warned that "disruptive behavior is unacceptable," and stated that fans could be subject to ejections and even arrest should they violate the terms.
This isn’t the first time the arena has taken such action—in the immediate aftermath of the trade, several fans were kicked out of Mavs home games for their continued criticism of Harrison.
On Wednesday, fans were torn between berating Harrison and cheering on Doncic throughout the first half. In his return to Dallas, Doncic dropped a game-high 31 points in the first half, which only fueled the anti-Nico Harrison discourse at the arena.
The team made clear that such behavior would not be tolerated, though it doesn't seem to have deterred Mavericks fans from voicing their true feelings on the current state of the team.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mavericks Displayed Fan Code of Conduct on Screen Amid Outpour of ‘Fire Nico’ Chants.
