Ahead of the 2025–26 NBA season, Austin Reaves recalled the intensity of Luka Doncic’s first game back in Dallas after being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I will never see something like that in my basketball career. That was insane,” Reaves said on The Young Man and The Three podcast, via HoopsHype, describing the atmosphere during the matchup.
Reaves recalled the start of the game: “They fouled Luka like the first two minutes of the game and it started… I don’t know if it was fire Nico or f*ck Nico (Harrison). I can’t remember which one it was, but like it was from tip off to the end of the game, just going crazy.”
He added, “Every time Luka scored it was like that and he went crazy in the first half too. He went crazy.”
Doncic, traded to Los Angeles on February 2, alongside Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris, returned to face the Mavericks on April 9. The game featured a pregame video tribute honoring his time in Dallas.
The Lakers guard matched his season-high with 45 points, helping Los Angeles secure a 112–97 win, and joined Wilt Chamberlain as the second player in NBA history to score at least 45 points for and against the same team in a single season.
Doncic’s transition to Los Angeles paired him with LeBron James, creating one of the league’s most anticipated backcourts. The trade also sent Max Christie, Anthony Davis, and a 2029 first-round pick to Dallas.
The Lakers’ acquisition of Doncic remains one of the most talked-about trades in recent NBA history.
