Apr 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) during team introductions before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Luka Doncic reveals why he 'didn't know how to react' to Mavericks-Lakers trade

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Sep 16, 2025 1:26 PM ET

There are a lot of people who are still hurt by Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. But arguably, no one was more upset by it than Doncic himself, who famously threw and broke his phone once his manager let him know of the trade.

But Doncic was also conflicted inside because he didn't want to upset Lakers fans and his new franchise. He talked about the split feelings in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

"I didn’t know how to react, how to act, what to say," Doncic said. "It was a lot of shock. I felt Dallas was my home. I had many friends there. The fans always supported me. I didn’t want to upset Dallas fans. And I didn’t want to upset Laker fans.”

Luka Dončić tells @WSJMag of his trade to the Lakers in February: “I didn’t know how to react, how to act, what to say. It was a lot of shock. I felt Dallas was my home. I had many friends there. The fans always supported me. I didn’t want to upset Dallas fans. And I didn’t want… https://t.co/06rgk1PTdI
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 16, 2025

Doncic saw how much Mavericks fans supported him in the aftermath of the trade, when fans protested the trade outside of the arena, raining "Fire Nico" chants down, and cheering louder for him than anyone on the Mavs when he made his return to the American Airlines Center on April 9th.

It's understandable that Doncic didn't want to outwardly show Lakers fans that he was hurting, but the signs were there. He was quieter than normal on his introductory press conference in February, openly cried on the bench in Dallas while they played the tribute video, and he has talked openly about how he always wanted to be in Dallas. He had just closed on a new house when the trade was finalized.

An Ongoing Battle Between the Mavericks and Luka Doncic

The Dallas Mavericks have made it clear that they want nothing to do with Luka Doncic anymore, removing any mention of him in and around the American Airlines Center, and have yet to post any highlights that have him in it. But that isn't stopping Doncic.

The Slovenian superstar recently partnered with his favorite video game, Overwatch, and was featured in the advertisements for it, including on some billboards. One of those billboards was placed outside of the AAC, something that the ownership group wasn't happy with and tried to have removed. Those attempts failed, and Doncic has still been able to market in the city that still supports him more than any other.

The Mavs weren’t happy with the Luka Dončić Overwatch billboard in Dallas — ownership forced it to be moved after saying it was too close to the arena, per @ArashMarkazi pic.twitter.com/cjXeMcccCC
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 27, 2025