Luka Doncic‘s time with the Dallas Mavericks will always have a special place in the hearts of the fans of the franchise. Doncic brought excellence to the organization that was handed to him by the legendary big man Dirk Nowitzki. However, his time with the team was cut short when he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2025 trade deadline.
The breakup between the Mavericks and Doncic was ugly and there’s a question on whether the organization will retire his jersey number. After all, he contributed a lot to the team during his seven-year run in Dallas. He was a five-time All-Star, a five-time All-NBA, a Rookie of the Year and a one-time Western Conference finals MVP with the team.
On Wednesday, Doncic and the Lakers will arrive at the American Airlines Center. It will be the first time the Slovenian star will step foot in his former home court as an opponent. Ahead of the game, his former teammate, Dwight Powell, had a moment of reflection on the five-time All-Star’s time together.
“We spent a lot of years together and shared a lot of great memories,” Powell said. “We had great times on the court, obviously, and great times off the court as well — even competing in the summers, the national team and whatnot, and being able to come back the following preseason and have that bragging rights, whichever way it went.”
Before the Mavericks host Luka Dončić for the first time since trading him to the Lakers, I spoke with Dwight Powell.
Nobody has played more NBA games with Dončić than Powell. Powell reflected on being Dončić’s teammate and if #77 belongs in the rafters.https://t.co/DCy24VTH3S
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) April 6, 2025
Out of everyone in the Mavs roster, Powell is the player who’s spent the most minutes playing with Doncic. With the familiarity of how good the 6-foot-6 guard is, the veteran center believes he deserves to get his No. 77 jersey retired.
“I mean, yeah,” Powell said. “That’s not obviously my decision, but yeah.”
Dallas Mavericks head coach expects the energy to be electric in Doncic’s first game back
For the second time in Jason Kidd’s head coaching career with the Dallas Mavericks, he’ll have to make a gameplan against Doncic. The first time he had to do it was on Feb. 25, when the Mavericks visited Crypto.com Arena and played against the Lakers.
In the first game they played against Doncic, Dallas suffered a 107-99 defeat against LA. The Slovenian sensation had 19 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists.
On Wednesday, many expect Doncic’s return to Dallas even more energetic. Since fans have been upset at the organization for trading their star, Kidd thinks they’ll be excited to see him back for the first time since the deadline.
“Just another home game,” Kidd said. “It should be electric. I think the fans will be excited to see Luka. We’ll be excited to figure out how to protect home.”
Mavericks' Jason Kidd on what he expects from Luka Doncic's first game back in Dallas #MFFL https://t.co/eGGsFzx7DR
— MavericksGameday (@MavericksSI) April 6, 2025
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
