With unwavering smile, Luka Doncic embraces ‘surreal feeling’ of Los Angeles debut

LOS ANGELES — The words “thank you for your loyalty and support” were plastered on a gold background that framed Dirk Nowitzki’s subdued smile on each side of the Crypto.com Arena video board.

Hollywood’s best writers ought to take note.

Or, maybe, even they’d demand a merciful pause. Just consider the state of affairs Monday night alone: The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Sacramento Kings in overtime at American Airlines Center in a game marred by spectator ejections and vitriol while, some 1,500 miles away, two of the team’s most beloved former players were welcomed with open arms by an overjoyed Los Angeles Lakers home crowd.

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Oh, by the way, that all happened after LeBron James wore a golden Lakers-branded Luka Doncic t-shirt during his pregame workout. It was one of thousands that the Lakers laid out across each of the arena’s 20,000 seats.

It’s real, and if the fans who filled the Lakers’ gym Monday night to catch basketball history were to be polled on the topic, they’d argue it’s spectacular. Doncic made his Lakers debut in a 132-113 win vs. the Utah Jazz nine days after the Mavericks shipped him to Los Angeles in a stunning blockbuster trade that’s kept Dallas faithful in uproar for more than a week.

“When I came to the arena, I saw all the Luka jerseys,” Doncic said. “Surreal feeling.”

That’s one word for it. Doncic totaled 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 23 minutes of limited action. He had to shake the rust of a month-long injury-induced layoff and didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter. He made just 5 of his 14 shots. His numbers hardly matched his averages and his new fan base hardly noticed. The crowd cheered each time Doncic touched the ball and each time he was shown on the video board. They even applauded Nowitzki — who played one season with Doncic in Dallas and attended Monday’s game to support his former teammate and friend — when he was on display in the second quarter.

“I’ve always looked up to him,” Doncic said of Nowitzki, who sat next to his father Sasa. “Great mentor. For him to show up, fly all the way from Dallas, it was amazing and I really appreciate it.

On the topic of Dallas: Yes, Doncic has seen the reaction from Mavericks fans. That includes rallies outside American Airlines Center on consecutive weekends, an outpour of anguish and frustration on social media and displays during home games.

“Obviously I saw the fans, obviously I really appreciate it,” Doncic said. “I was there almost seven years and it was amazing to experience those fans and their love for me. I will always appreciate that, but now I think we should focus on the next step and the way Lakers fans received me here was amazing.”

Doncic stepped onto the court for warmups shortly after 6:30 p.m. PT with half-a-dozen television cameras directly in his wake and a quarter-filled arena at its feet in applause. He ended his pregame stretch with three half-court shots; he missed all three, laughed, dropped to the floor and did 10 pushups. The early bird spectators hollered as the 25-year-old hammered out his last few reps, leapt to his feet and sprinted back into the tunnel to massive fanfare. He gave a thumbs-up before he disappeared into the arena’s basement.

He was serenaded again when he took the court before tipoff. The stadium camera trained on Doncic during the final moments of the national anthem and the crowd’s fervor grew in intensity as the final tunes of Mark Allen’s saxophone rendition played through the speakers. Doncic was then introduced last among the Lakers’ five starters; James, who is usually introduced fifth, texted Doncic Monday morning and offered him the position.

“He said, ‘whatever you want,’” Doncic said. “For him to text me that, it’s just amazing, it shows what kind of person he is. He let me have my moment and I appreciate it.”

Did Doncic specifically ask to be introduced last?

He smiled.

“I mean,” Doncic said with a laugh. “Today, if he could let me have this one.”

Doncic looked, at times, solemn and shellshocked during his introductory press conference last week. His often-unwavering smile and joy returned Monday. So, too, did the kind of moments that tend to bring those traits out. Doncic’s antics — like, say, his first-quarter rope-a-dope step back 3-point attempt, his second-quarter cross-court pass to former Maverick Dorian Finney-Smith or his third-quarter Dirk-esque fadeaway — elicited the visceral “ooh’s” and “ah’s” that once provided background noise at American Airlines Center.

That might’ve been a top-down directive: Lakers head coach JJ Redick said before Monday’s game that he wanted Doncic to “just be himself” and James said as much the same (albeit with a few more expletives) in a pregame huddle caught on video.

“It’s special,” Doncic said. “For [James] to say something like that, it’s amazing. It gave me confidence, that speech. Chills.”

Doncic played for the first time Monday since he exited the Mavericks’ Christmas Day loss vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves with a calf injury. Redick said the Lakers’ medical staff deemed it best to “ease Luka back in to playing NBA action again” after the five-week layoff.

“Knowing Luka, whether he will admit this or not, there were probably a little bit of nerves,” said Redick, who played one season with Doncic in Dallas in 2020-21. “Playing for the Lakers for the first time, and the anticipation our fans had, this building had, his teammates had, our coaching staff had. He kind of gets that, he sees that. I thought he handled it really well tonight.”

Yes, Doncic acknowledged, he was nervous.

There’s a first time for everything.

“I mean, when was the last time I was nervous before a game?” Doncic asked rhetorically. “But once I stepped on the court, it was fine, just being out there again.”

This time as a Laker.

Surreal.

On Twitter/X: @McFarland_Shawn

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