Betrayal can cause emotional grief. World-class athletes are portrayed as invincible, but even they feel the impact of getting stabbed in the back.
Luka Dončić was on the receiving end of the knife when the Dallas Mavericks traded him in the middle of the night on the first day of the love month. No love was involved in the early February trade as the Mavericks moved Dončić, who gave it all to that city and fan base.
"It's going to be very emotional for me, for sure," Luka Doncic says of game in Dallas tomorrow. Says he's excited to be back in Dallas and see teammates and fans. "I don't know how I'm going to feel, but I know I'll be excited to be back."
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) April 9, 2025
From day one, he established himself as one of the best young talents and ultimately led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals in his sixth season (apparently, winning doesn't matter in the NBA anymore).
Those bottled-up mixed feelings of pain, anger, and anxiousness will be released as Dončić returns to Dallas as an opposing player Wednesday night. Dončić is excited to see his brothers he went to war with and the fan base that wanted to immortalize him like they did Dirk Nowitzki after his epic 2011 run. It'll be mixed feelings, but Dončić will come out to seek destruction when he's an opposing player at American Airlines Arena.
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Luka Dončić returns to a place once called home
The Dallas Mavericks are a successful franchise that Dirk Nowitzki once carried on his back. He led them to their only championship and went through the likes of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James to get it.
The 2011 run was a triumphant run filled with overcoming the odds. Dončić's 2024 run didn't end in the same championship climax, but he was damn close, and it was clear he'd wreck the conference for years to come.
After the run Dončić and the Mavericks went on, trading him less than a year later was unfathomable. The reasons the Mavericks continued to leak after their fumble didn't make sense then and don't make sense now. "Defense wins championships" is true, but the Mavericks' only championship was due to Nowitzki's offensive greatness and Wolf Pack defenders behind him.
Imagine if the Mavericks traded Nowitzki after they fell short in the 2006 Finals or after their epic choke job as a 67-win team in 2007. Nowitzki was named MVP after the choke job, and moving him would've been malpractice. They allowed Nowitzki and company to get back on track; eventually, it paid off.
We'll never know how the Dončić era would've gone with Luka at his apex. He was already a franchise leader in many categories as a sixth-year monster. The Mavericks threw all that promise away and affected Dončić's emotions in a major way. A move like that would've shaken up any franchise leader. I'd imagine it's hard to trust an organization after that.
With Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers coming to Dallas Wednesday night, you can trust there will be fireworks. Dončić will be emotional, but don't forget he's a cold-blooded assassin who is 1st in triple-doubles, points per game, and assists percentage in Mavericks history. Who trades a player like that? They'll feel his rage Wednesday night on national TV.