The return of Luka Doncic to the American Airlines Arena was one of the most anticipated events amongst fans, analysts, and some former\/current players. Everybody wanted to see how Doncic would perform against his former team, and we got the answer. In his emotional return to Dallas, Doncic dropped 45 points against his former team and he finally looked like his vintage self, the further the game went along. The Mavericks are now 0-2 since they traded away Doncic to the Lakers, and we have not seen how the Mavericks actually look like, in full strength, since their star guard Kyrie Irving will not play anytime soon.<\/p>
Doncic was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks as the 3rd overall pick of the 2018 draft and he played for the Mavs for seven seasons, before he was traded to the Lakers. The exchange of Doncic for Anthony Davis is still one of, if not, the most bizarre trades we’ve ever seen in the NBA. While Mavericks’ GM Nico Harrison stated that “defense wins championships,” as the reason that they traded Doncic away, we do wonder if it was worth trading a 26 year old superstar in his prime for a 32 year old who’s been battling injuries throughout his career. <\/p>