Apr 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) brings the ball up court against the Dallas Mavericks during the third quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

All eyes were on Luka Doncic's return to Dallas for Mavericks-Lakers

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Apr 11, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Dallas Mavericks hosted the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, with the Lakers coming away with a 112-97 win. It was one of the most heavily anticipated regular season games in recent NBA memory as Luka Doncic returned to the American Airlines Center.

It was an emotional night on all sides as Doncic delivered a legendary performance in front of his former team's fans, who seemed more interested in rooting for him than the Mavericks (as they should). Doncic even cried during the tribute video that the Mavericks played before the game. It was captivating from start to finish, and the viewership numbers back that up.

ESPN released the numbers from Wednesday's game, and it was the most viewed non-Christmas game of the regular season on ESPN for the 2024-25 season, with an average viewer count of 2.26 million, and capping out at 2.79 million. It was also the most viewed program of the day for many demographics.

Luka Dončić's return to Dallas on Wednesday drew the largest non-Christmas #NBA audience on ESPN this season (2.26M avg. viewers) pic.twitter.com/vedYlxKEPg
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 10, 2025

The only stat that doesn't make sense is the viewership being "Up 71% from comparable game last year." There is no comparable game to what we witnessed on Wednesday night. Luka Doncic never wanted to leave Dallas, yet Nico Harrison and Patrick Dumont dumped him off to the Los Angeles Lakers and slandered him at every possible opportunity. And it's been nothing but a rebellion since then. "Fire Nico" chants rained down in the American Airlines Center on Wednesday and it's been two months since the trade, and those should continue to persist until Nico Harrison is finally fired. It was called the craziest trade in NBA history as soon as it was made, and it's only gotten crazier since.

This article first appeared on Dallas Mavericks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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