It didn’t take long. Six minutes. Six-ish, really. That’s when Luka Doncic buried a 29-footer, barked at the Dallas Mavericks bench and ended any fleeting thoughts that this was another game on the calendar.
“It was a lot of emotions,” said Doncic. “I can’t even explain.”
It was Lakers-Mavs at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday. This wasn’t the Lakers-Mavs game, of course. That will come in April, when Luka’s Lakers—it still feels strange typing that—travel to Dallas for Doncic’s return. That game will be emotional. This one felt personal.
An hour before tip-off Doncic jogged on the floor to warm up. On the other end, Mavs GM Nico Harrison leaned against the scorers table. Harrison, who initiated, negotiated and eventually signed off on the deal that shipped Doncic to Los Angeles, cast an occasional glance in Doncic’s direction. Not once did Doncic look in his direction.
There was anxiety in facing his former team, Doncic said. There was so much history packed into 6 ½ seasons. He played 422 regular season games in a Dallas uniform. Another 50 in the playoffs. He scored more than 12,000 points, collected more than 3,600 rebounds and handed out 3,400 assists. Doncic didn’t sleep much the night before the game, he said. Facing the Mavericks, even in Los Angeles, was unnerving.
Jason Kidd knew what was coming. Before the game, Kidd did his best to downplay the game’s significance. Asked about going against Doncic, Kidd noted the significance of the game for everyone involved in the deal. “The train keeps moving,” Kidd said. “This game is going to come and go.”
Still, Kidd, a Lakers assistant in 2019–20, recalled Anthony Davis’s return to New Orleans. In that game, Kidd said, the staff treated Davis like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, feeding him early and often. With Doncic, Kidd anticipated much of the same.
And he got it. Doncic appeared to press early. “Clearly worked up,” said Lakers coach JJ Redick. Doncic’s first shot, a contested three, missed badly. But he quickly found a rhythm. He euro stepped past P.J. Washington for a layup. He found LeBron James for an open three in transition. He missed his next triple but followed his own shot for a bucket and a foul.
He finished the first quarter with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.
He finished the game with a 19-point, 15-rebound, 12-assist triple-double in L.A.’s 107–99 win.
Said Kidd, “He fills up the stat sheet like no other player.”
It wasn’t a flawless performance. Doncic was 6–17 from the floor. He was 1–7 from three. But the brilliance was there. He flipped a no-look pass over his head to Austin Reaves for an open three. He found Jaxson Hayes for an alley-oop. He ruthlessly executed a two-man game with James, passing the ball in and out of the post until James was freed up for an open three.
That's an INSANE pass, @luka7doncic pic.twitter.com/89creWD43h
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 26, 2025
“I talk a lot about patience,” said Doncic. “That was one of the best examples of patience.”
Indeed. Throughout the game chants of “Thank you, Nico” could be heard in pockets of the arena. And why not? In the aftermath of the trade, the Lakers preached patience. Certainly the team would need at least a summer to put the pieces around Doncic and James to contend. But with the postseason around the corner, Los Angeles is thriving.
Tuesday’s win improved L.A. to 35–21, percentage points ahead of Houston for fourth in the Western Conference. Since Feb. 1, the Lakers have the NBA’s ninth best offense. No surprise, given James’s greatness. Its defensive rating has been third, a full point ahead of Oklahoma City and Boston. Big surprise, considering Hayes is L.A.’s most reliable rim protector.
The energy is there defensively. As a team the Lakers defend well without fouling. The return of Jarred Vanderbilt has helped. More minutes for Dorian Finney-Smith has, too. For the last six weeks, James, Redick said, is playing at an All-Defensive team level.
“People may have perceptions of what he is as a defender,” said Redick. “I watch it every night. He doesn’t get scored on in isolation. He blows plays up. He’s always in the right position … there’s this perception of him at this age, like, conserving energy. There’s no conversation of energy on that end of the floor.”
Tests are coming. The Lakers have the fourth most difficult remaining schedule, per Tankathon.com. A 17-game stretch in March includes two lengthy road trips. James is 40. Doncic and Austin Reaves are average defenders. To fortify its frontcourt, the Lakers signed ex-Kings center Alex Len off the street.
For L.A., keeping a top-four seed will be challenging. But James is playing otherworldly and Doncic grows more comfortable by the day. Facing reporters, Doncic expressed relief that the game was over. A triple-double was nice but he didn’t believe he played well. Seeing his former teammates was fun but he didn’t look forward to playing against them. The wound of getting dumped by Dallas is beginning to scar but is far from fully healed.
"I can't wait to go to sleep, honestly" 😂
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 26, 2025
Luka after he took down his former team with a Triple-Double effort 💪 pic.twitter.com/bgP1iAw5hB
“The closure is going to take a while I think,” said Doncic. “I don't know. It's just, it's not ideal. Like I said, I'm glad this game is over. There was a lot of emotions. It will go little by little. Every day is better.”
For the Lakers, too. L.A. made the deal for Doncic with an eye toward the future. No one should be labeling the Lakers as title contenders. But as Doncic continues to settle in, that future could come sooner than they thought.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Luka Doncic Lakers Have Arrived Ahead of Schedule.
