“He’s really hurt”: Teary-eyed Luka Doncic soaking in Mavericks tribute video has fans feeling for him

Luka Doncic was returning to the Dallas Mavericks for the first time since his trade to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“He’s really hurt”: Teary-eyed Luka Doncic soaking in Mavericks tribute video has fans feeling for him

Luka Doncic in tears during Dallas Mavericks tribute video

On February 1st, Luka Doncic was going about his life as he would normally do, still recovering from an injury and going through recovery in order to return to play basketball for the Dallas Mavericks. The following day, or rather night, that world was wiped out from his life.

His team felt they wanted to move on from him and promptly traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers. In exchange they landed Anthony Davis and Max Christie in a trade that would shock the world. It has been two months since and all the conversation has been around his return to Dallas on April 9th.

YouTube video

This game was significant enough that it beat out ticket prices of all Mavericks games. Fans knew it would be an emotional return even if Doncic has been calm about it. When he entered the American Airlines Arena, he greeted those he used to meet regularly over the past seven years.

During warmup, fans inside the arena cheered him loudly. He went about his business as professionally as he could. Then came gametime and Luka Doncic proved to the world what this trade has done to him. The Mavericks prepared a tribute video for him, and they broadcasted it on their jumbotron during introductions.

The Slovenian was in tears, holding himself back from completely letting it all out. No matter how many times he used a towel or tissues, tears kept filling up his eyes. Teammate LeBron James noticed all this and gave Doncic a comforting long tight hug, knowing all too well how he must be feeling.

Celebs and fans feel for Luka Doncic

Basketball fans across the world tuned in to watch this game. They all saw how emotional Luka Doncic was. His draft partner Trae Young, Los Angeles Lakers fan and NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe and others could see how hurt he was after this trade.

Finally, the Slovenian’s emotions were evident as to how badly he wanted to be a Dallas Mavericks player for life. Fans understood clearly that he never wanted to leave. Check out examples of those reactions below.

Luka Doncic is all of 25 years old. The Mavericks were all he knew about basketball and the NBA. He might have accepted his fate and embraced Los Angeles, his emotions confirmed that he still feels heavily about his time in Texas.

‘Fire Nico’ chants fill American Airlines Center

Fans inside American Airlines Center were also emotional watching their former franchise cornerstone play in conference rival colors two months after that trade. They decided to remind the people sitting in the top offices how they felt.

‘Fire Nico’ chants broke out on several occasions as Luka Doncic toyed and torched his former team. Fans stood with signs knowing they have lost a generational talent just because the front office and ownership felt they needed to win now.

The 25-year-old was up by 31 points at the halfway point. It seems his Los Angeles Lakers teammates know the drill and are handing him the ball and getting out of the way. If the five-time All-NBA 1st teamer ends up dominating the win, expect Dallas Mavericks fans to let loose against the top brass.