The final full week of the 2025 NBA regular season ends with the latest chapter in its most dramatic storyline: the blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Doncic returns to Dallas for the first time since the February 2 trade, as the Lakers take on the Mavericks on Wednesday night at the American Airlines Center.
Tickets are in high demand — $200 (before fees) gets you in the door. The Mavericks’ next home game, against the Toronto Raptors, starts at just $12. Clearly, there’s a Luka effect at play.
What to Expect From Luka’s Homecoming
For Mavs fans, it’s a bittersweet moment. The face of their franchise returns, and the home crowd will undoubtedly show Doncic some love as he steps onto the court. But there may also be displeasure — or even anger — directed at the Mavericks’ front office and ownership, led by Miriam Adelson and her family, for dismantling a roster that reached the NBA Finals just last year.
Since Doncic’s departure, the two franchises have gone in opposite directions. The Lakers are 18–11 since the trade, while the Mavericks are 12–15. Still, Dallas hasn’t experienced the kind of collapse many expected — even with Kyrie Irving’s season-ending surgery and Anthony Davis missing 18 games.
The Mavericks are still likely to reach the Play-In Tournament as the 9th or 10th seed and could face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round — if they make it out of the Play-In.
Should they somehow upset Oklahoma City, Dallas could potentially face the Lakers in the second round. That would be must-see TV — with tickets for those games expected to be in even higher demand.
For those looking to watch Luka’s return to Dallas, click the link below.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas Mavericks
Date: Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Time: 6:30 PM Central
Venue: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
Globely News covers the game changers transforming the worlds of business, sports, politics, and technology. From AI and electric vehicles to the rise of China and the NFL's next stars, we've got you covered.