The overwhelming majority of Dallas Mavericks fans were not pleased to see general manager Nico Harrison trade their franchise player, Luka Doncic, to the Los Angeles Lakers. They were not pleased, either, to see owner Patrick Dumont imply that Doncic didn’t work hard enough. Some fans protested at American Airlines Center the day after the trade, and many more — approximately 1,000, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon — protested this past Saturday, chanting “fire Nico!” and “sell the team!”
On Monday, some fans were ejected in the second half of the Mavericks’ home game against the Sacramento Kings; one of them mouthed “fire Nico!” while on the jumbotron and, along with a friend, held up signs that read, “FIRE NICO.”
Every time a fan was ejected on Monday, fellow fans booed. When Dumont sat in his courtside seat late in the third quarter, he was booed. Harrison, who didn’t attend the first home game of the post-Doncic era, was in the arena on Monday, but wasn’t in his usual seat, per ESPN. Hours after that game — and shortly after his Lakers debut — Doncic said he appreciates the support he’s still getting in Dallas.
“I mean, yeah, I saw,” Doncic told reporters. “Obviously, I saw the fans. Obviously, I really appreciate it. I’ve been there seven years, almost seven years, and it was amazing to experience those fans and the love for me. I will always appreciate that. But now I think we should focus on the next step, and the way Lakers fans received me here was amazing.”
Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki attended game in Los Angeles to support Doncic. Doncic told reporters this meant a lot to him.
“Great friend, always looked up to him, great mentor,” Doncic said. “So for him to show up, fly all the way from Dallas, was amazing, and I really, really appreciate it.”
Doncic didn’t want to be traded and was shocked by the move, but it has come with an outpouring of love from his old place of work and his new one. Every fan in attendance in L.A. on Monday received a No. 77 T-shirt, and LeBron James allowed Doncic’s name to be announced last during pregame introductions. Doncic’s favorite part of the night, he told reporters, was “being introduced. Just the amount of cheering there was in the arena was absolutely unbelievable.”
Doncic said that James had texted him in the morning to say he’d do whatever his new teammate wanted. “He let me have my moment,” Doncic said, but “from now on, he’ll be the last [to be introduced].”
Luka Doncic’s Lakers debut: L.A. cruises to victory, but LeBron James and Jaxson Hayes were the real winners
Sam Quinn
In his first game in a Lakers uniform, Doncic recorded 14 points on 5-for-14 shooting, five rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes, and Los Angeles dominated the lowly Utah Jazz en route to a 132-113 victory. The Lakers will host Doncic’s former team on Feb. 25, and they will visit Dallas on April 9.
