As Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic faced his former team the Dallas Mavericks, winning 107-99, it was no doubt an emotional moment for the 25-year-old. While people have created the narrative of a feud between Doncic and Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has an interesting story that happened pre-game about the two.
Windhorst spoke on The Hoope Collective about Doncic warming up an hour before Tuesday night’s game whereas he was practicing, Harrison was “sitting very leisurely on the scorer’s table.” He would say the two were about 15 or 20 feet apart from one another as the moment was bolstered as Windhorst was watching it with Doncic’s agent Bill Duffy who even called it a “special moment.”
“Luka comes out to warm up an hour before the game give or take,” Windhorst said. “Nico is sitting very plainly in a sea of blue and gold, in a bright blue suit, sitting very leisurely on the scorer’s table when Luka comes out to warm up. They are 15 – 20 feet apart, Luka is shooting 3’s from the wing at one point, maybe 30 feet. I am sitting there watching it with Bill Duffy, who is Luka’s agent. Bill has been around the NBA for 40-plus years and he’s known Luka since Luka was 14 and he is just sort of watching with a smirk on his face. He’s like, ‘I’ve seen a lot of things in this league and this is a special moment.’”
Lakers’ Luka Doncic on facing his former team
In Doncic’s revenge game against the Mavericks, he finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists, earning his first triple-double in a Los Angeles uniform. When speaking about Doncic and Harrison, the former would be asked if he saw Harrison during pre-game which he denied according to Jovan Buha.
“I didn’t see him in warmups,” Doncic said, per Buha.
There was no doubt that Feb. 25 was circled on the calendars for Lakers and Mavericks fans as the two would face off for the first time since the blockbuster trade before the deadline. Speaking to TNT’s Adam Lefkoe, Doncic would be asked “Luka, how does it feel being over?”
“Great, man. I can’t wait to go to sleep, honestly. I’m exhausted,” Doncic responded.
Adam Lefkoe: “Luka, how does it feel being over?”
Luka Doncic: “Great, man. I can’t wait to go to sleep, honestly. I’m exhausted.”
(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/DEY44jDwIB
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 26, 2025
While some may think there is bad blood, Doncic would express how he feels playing Kyrie Irving, his teammate for the past few seasons when they reached the NBA Finals last season with Dallas.
“Kyrie is my Hermano,” Doncic said. “We got beyond basketball. It was good to see those guys. We went to wars together, and it was really fun to see them all.”
Luka Dončić on seeing his old Dallas Mavericks teammates for the first time since being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Kyrie is my Hermano. We got beyond basketball. It was good to see those guys. We went to wars together, and it was really fun to see them all.” pic.twitter.com/BVLAOWJ0eM
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) February 26, 2025
Los Angeles is currently 35-21 which puts them fourth in the Western Conference as they next face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.
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