Luka Doncic thinks Lakers vs. Mavericks will 'always be special'

The Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers will always have a rivalry after the Luka Doncic trade.

Nov 28, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts after a foul on Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall (13) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers will forever be tied together after Luka Doncic was traded to Tinseltown on Feb. 1.

The Mavs and Lakers have played a few times since then but Doncic says he will always circle games on the calendar against his former team.

“I would say it’s a little bit easier now,” Dončić said via Dallas Hoops Journal reporter Grant Afseth. “But games against Dallas always have some special meaning to me. I still have a lot of friends there. It’s important, it’s fun, and it’s always special. Like I say, it’ll always be special for me.”

READ MORE: 3 overreactions as Mavericks fall to Luka Doncic, Lakers in NBA Cup action

Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis is defended by Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Doncic, Lakers beat Mavericks in Los Angeles

The 129-119 loss for the Mavs came thanks to Doncic's 35 points and 11 rebounds, while Austin Reaves contributed 38 points and eight rebounds. For the Mavs, P.J. Washington was the leading scorer with 22 points while Anthony Davis, the centerpiece of the returning trade package, had 12 points in 28 minutes in his first action since Oct. 29.

“Yeah, I thought he was good for his first game back,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said via Afseth. “[We will] try to get the rhythm and try to get the flow of just being with those guys on the floor. I thought he was good on both ends. As we go forward and continue, as we talked about to stacking good minutes, he did that.”

Davis and the Mavericks will go back to the drawing board as they try to recover from their 5-14 start to the season. Their next game comes against James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and the Los Angeles Clippers, who are also struggling to start the season. Tipoff for the game is scheduled for 9 p.m. CT.

READ MORE: Mavericks' Cooper Flagg's first game against Lakers, Luka Doncic, is 'another game'

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