“Hvala za vse” is what the Dallas Mavericks put on the shirts left on every seat in their arena before Luka Doncic made his first return to his former home as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
The phrase, which means “thanks for everything” in Slovenian, was just the start of an emotional night for both Doncic and his ever-loving fans, who cheered his every basket against their favorite team.
Thank you for everything.#MFFL pic.twitter.com/ZpM0mP3EOQ
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 9, 2025
The Lakers went on to defeat the Mavs, 112-97, thanks to 45 points (7-10 3PT), eight rebounds, and six assists from the once-19-year-old that expected to spend his entire career in downtown Texas.
Luka Doncic explodes in return to Dallas
A tear-jerking pre-game tribute video left Doncic with rosy cheeks and soggy eyes as he stepped onto the court in a desperate situation for the Lakers, who needed to win two of their final three games to lock up the third seed in the Western Conference.
“After that video, I was like ‘there’s no way I’m playing this game,’” Doncic said in his postgame press conference. “There [were] so many emotions; I just went out there and played basketball.”
“I don’t know how I did it. Because when I was watching that video, I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m playing this game.'”
Luka Doncic after dropping 45 PTS in his emotional return to Dallas with the Lakers ❤️ pic.twitter.com/dJb1GFCT0n
— ESPN (@espn) April 10, 2025
Wearing a heavy heart less than 24 hours after he was ejected during the fourth quarter of a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Doncic reminded his faithful fans of what they expected to see every time they turned on their television for the next 10 years.
He got off to a blazing start with 31 first-half points and incredible efficiency from outside as he picked on every defender the Mavs threw at him. That included both Anthony Davis (13 points, 11 rebounds, six assists) and Max Christie (11 points, three rebounds, three assists), who were packaged with a future first round pick in a trade that sent him to LA.
LeBron James shouldered the scoring burden down the stretch, putting up 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter.
Even as LeBron owned the fourth quarter, the show still belonged to Doncic. He was swarmed by his teammates and serenaded by chants of “Luka! Luka!” from the Dallas crowd as the clock ran out.
“To have the emotional resolve to then go put on that kind of performance, it’s superhuman,” Lakers rookie coach JJ Redick said about Doncic, whom he teamed with for one season during his playing career. “Maybe some anticipation, maybe some dread, but certainly a ton of emotions about tonight, and then he went and did that.
“It’s big time and he led us…our guys certainly had Luka’s back and he had his teammates’ back for sure.”
Can the Lakers win the Finals with Luka?
The win guaranteed the Lakers a spot in the playoff bracket without having to navigate the Play-In Tournament. This will be their first time getting a break after the final regular-season game since 2020, when they won the championship.
The 45 points scored by Doncic against Dallass tied his Lakers high. His seven made threes on 10 attempts marked his most efficient perimeter shooting night and second-most made threes while wearing the purple and gold.
“[Luka Doncic] became a Laker tonight,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said after the win. “He said after the game it’s time to move on, he’s a Laker now.”
The Lakers only need to win one of their next two games—against the Houston Rockets on Friday and the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday—to guarantee themselves the third seed. They hold the tiebreaker over every team in contention for the third seed, with the Denver Nuggets (fourth) and Los Angeles Clippers (fifth) being just one game behind them in the standings.
According to FanDuel sportsbook, the Lakers (+650) have the second-best chance to win the West. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder (-150) are ahead of them, while the Golden State Warriors (+750) are close behind.
The Lakers are also tied with the Warriors for fourth in Finals odds, behind the Thunder (+170), Boston Celtics (+185), and Cleveland Cavaliers (+500).
