Dallas Mavericks icon Dirk Nowitzki was on a family vacation when the shocking news of the Luke Doncic-Anthony Davis trade emerged, but he learned about it almost immediately. “When I saw the news, I was actually on the other side of the world, vacationing with my family in the Maldives. I was about to go to lunch, and as we were preparing to leave that day to travel back, my phone started blowing up,” Nowitzki shared during an appearance at 96.7 The Ticket’s Ticketstock event.
Nowitzki and Doncic played together for one season in Dallas, developing a close bond. After the trade, they exchanged texts. “Fast-forward to coming home, Luka and I texted a bit. I felt a bit disappointed and sad for him. He obviously didn’t see this coming. He invited me to his first game in Los Angeles, and I felt it was important to support him,” Nowitzki explained. “I played with him in my last season. We grew close, and I tried to mentor him as much as I could in the last few years.”
Mavericks fans had hoped Doncic would emulate Nowitzki, the superstar who spent his entire career in Dallas and brought a championship to the franchise. Doncic, like the fans, felt “disappointed” by the trade. Nowitzki attended Doncic’s debut with the Los Angeles Lakers to show his support, not for the Lakers. “He’s a good kid, so I felt it was necessary to be there for him in this new chapter. It was reported that he was pretty down about how it all unfolded, so I wanted to support him and his family,” Nowitzki said. “You saw my face; it was surreal to see him in a Lakers uniform. I’ll never be a Lakers fan, but I will always be a fan of Luka.”
Doncic expressed that Nowitzki’s presence at his Lakers debut was “amazing.” The key player acquired by the Mavericks in the Doncic trade was Anthony Davis, who suffered a groin injury in one of his initial games with the team and has been sidelined since. The Mavericks and Lakers are scheduled to meet for the first time since the trade on Tuesday, February 25, at 10:00 p.m. ET.
