BASKETBALL Hall of Fame member Dirk Nowitzki admitted he, like most everyone else, was shocked that the Dallas Mavericks sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster trade earlier this month.
“I think I was as shocked and surprised as anyone was. . . I really couldn’t believe it,” Nowitzki told 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas on Friday (Saturday in Manila) of his reaction to learning of the trade.
Nowitzki also shared his thoughts while texting with Doncic shortly after the deal.
“Of course, I felt a little disappointed and sad for him, you know. I think he obviously didn’t see this coming,” Nowitzki said. “So, he invited me to come out to his first game in LA and I felt like I had to support him.
“I think he was—I mean it was reported that—he was pretty down and disappointed in how it went down, and so I wanted to be there for him, I wanted to be there for his family. . . I’m sure he wanted to finish his career like I did.”
Doncic, who turns 26 on Friday (Saturday in Manila), began his NBA career in 2018-19, which coincidentally was Nowitzki’s final season of his 21-year career with the Mavericks.
Nowitzki, 46, was the NBA MVP following the 2006-07 campaign and a 14-time All-Star. He averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists across 1,522 games (1,460 starts) with Dallas.
