Image Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

“It was weird” – Dirk Nowitzki shares Luka Doncic was ‘pretty down and disappointed’ after trade to Lakers

Nowitzki revealed the behind-the-scene story of Luka Doncic's emotions going into the next chapter of his NBA career.

Image Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki attended Luka Doncic’s first game for the Los Angeles Lakers since the blockbuster trade involving Anthony Davis. Even after three weeks, the trade story of Luka Doncic is still making headlines. Nowitzki shared his reaction to the blockbuster trade and opened up about Luka Doncic’s emotions earlier this month.

The former Mavericks superstar talked on 96.7 The Ticket on Friday and revealed that he learned the Doncic-Davis trade news while vacationing with his family in the Maldives. Dallas legend couldn’t believe it and had a text conversation with Luka Doncic.

Dirk Nowitzki details how he found out about the Luka Doncic trade:

"I was on the other side of the world… and my phone just starts blowing up."

"I was as shocked and surprised as everybody was… I just spent the next hour following everything on social media." pic.twitter.com/oVbIJF66Pd
— Michelle Montaine (@michmontaine) February 22, 2025

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Nowitzki opens up on Luka Doncic’s first game for the Lakers

Nowitzki wanted to support the Lakers guard for a new journey in his NBA career. The former Mavericks player admitted that Luka Doncic invited him to see his first game in Los Angeles. Nowitzki was surprised and felt sad for the five-time All-Star.

“We texted a bit, of course I felt a little disappointed and sad for him, you know, I think he obviously didn’t see this coming,” Nowitzki said. “So he invited me to come out to his first game in L.A. and I felt like I had to support him.

Dirk on his text exchange with Luka Doncic following the trade:

"He invited me to come out to his first game in LA… He was pretty down & disappointed on how it went down, so I wanted to be there for him."

"But you guys saw my face…it was weird." pic.twitter.com/MGEUkI9fXH
— Michelle Montaine (@michmontaine) February 22, 2025

Nowitzki is the first person who revealed the behind-the-scene story of Luka Doncic’s emotions going into the next chapter of his NBA career. The Mavs legend admitted that Luka was down and disappointed. Nowitzki attended the debut game to show support to him.

“I think he (Doncic) was—I mean it was reported that—he was pretty down and disappointed in how it went down, and so I wanted to be there (on Doncic’s debut) for him, I wanted to be there for his family… I’m sure he wanted to finish his career like I did.”

Luka Doncic has played three games for the Lakers but didn’t leave any impact. Doncic committed six turnovers and went 5-for-18 from the floor against the Hornets. The five-time All-Star was shooting 1-for-9 from three-point range. JJ Redick put him on the minute restrictions in his first two games but provided a 33-minute stay in his third game.

Meanwhile, Luka Doncic has a big supporter like Dirk Nowitzki, who claimed that he will always be a Luka fan. However, he doesn’t want to be a Lakers fan. Nowitzki will always remain a Dallas Mavericks fan.

“At the end of the day, I’ll never be a Lakers fan, but I’ll always be a Luka fan,” Nowitzki said.

Image Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.