DALLAS  — In February, at the Lakers’ UCLA Health Training Facility in El Segundo, Calif., Luka Dončić sat hunched over, staring at the ground or into the distance. There were respites for smiles and smirks, but Dončić, a typically reserved but jovial personality, was still processing the shock of the blockbuster trade that shipped him from Dallas to Los Angeles.

“That first day was really hard,” Dončić said at his introductory news conference. “I felt like these last 48 hours were one month.”

Dončić returned to Dallas on Wednesday, playing in American Airlines Center as an opponent for the first time. But beyond the emotional return, which included the “Hvala za vse” T-shirts — Slovenian for “Thank you for everything” — and a tribute video during starting lineup introductions that moved Dončić to tears, the purple and gold jerseys dotting the crowd made it feel like anything but a road game. Dončić received cheers whenever he scored and “MVP!” chants at the free-throw line.

And that part, the embrace of Lakers Nation, the superstar has most certainly welcomed.

“Oh, yeah, big time,” Dončić said in an exclusive interview with The Athletic last week. “I remember the first couple games, they were always cheering me up. It’s been amazing for me.”

Dončić’s Dallas exit had been hurtful. At a time when he was expecting a super-max contract in the summer and closing on his $15 million home, he was instead awoken from his sleep to the news he was being traded — losing out on over $100 million — all while being disparaged on the way out.

The Mavericks questioned Dončić’s defense, conditioning, weight and work ethic, according to league sources. To many, the trade was nonsensical from the Mavericks’ perspective. They were trading away a generational superstar not yet in his prime. But the message from Dallas was that the franchise wanted to go in a new direction and build a different culture.

The Lakers, meanwhile, saw a basketball genius and the heir to their next era.

There were questions about who the face of the franchise would be following LeBron James’ retirement. The Lakers hoped it would be Anthony Davis — or he’d at least bridge them into their next era — but they were clearly open to alternative paths. The golden off-ramp, to bring in a 25-year-old global superstar still on the rise, was too attractive to pass up.

“I think Luka Dončić joining forces with the Los Angeles Lakers is a seismic event in NBA history,” said Rob Pelinka, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager, at Dončić’s introductory news conference. “The reason I say that is because we have a 25-year-old global superstar that’s going to get on the stage with the most popular and influential basketball brand on the globe. …

“If you think about kids in Barcelona, or kids in Buenos Aires, or children in Shanghai or Sydney, they’re going to be wearing a No. 77 Luka Dončić Lakers jersey and bringing joy to basketball, just like he does. And that’s why it’s powerful.”

Like the one-name Laker greats — West, Baylor, Wilt, Kareem, Magic, Shaq, Kobe and LeBron — that came before him, Luka has quickly built an emotional connection with the Lakers fan base that helped him get back on his feet.

Shortly after the trade, Carrera Cafe commissioned artist Arutyun Gozkuchikyan to paint a food mural on the wall next to the Melrose Avenue restaurant.

But the lifelong Los Angeles Lakers fan convinced the cafe that he had a better idea: he would paint the first Dončić mural for them.

Gozkuchikyan, 42, had experience painting basketball murals, having done multiple Kobe Bryant paintings over the past half-decade, including one of the first in 2020 of the late superstar. When the cafe obliged and asked Gozkuchikyan for a reference for his vision, there was only one option in his mind.

“It was Kobe and Luka,” said Gozkuchikyan, who is also known as ArToon.

Back in December 2019, in the final Lakers game that Bryant would attend, he took his 13-year-old daughter, Gigi, to watch Dončić, her favorite player.

During the game, Bryant playfully trash-talked Dončić in Slovenian, Dončić’s native language. The two chatted afterward and embraced in a photo that was eventually memorialized after Kobe and Gigi’s deaths on Jan. 26, 2020.

(Photo: Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“I remember the exact moment that happened,” Dončić said of the interaction in his introductory news conference on Feb. 3. “It will always stay in my mind. It was an amazing moment. Just for Kobe to know my name was amazing for me. I just wish Kobe and Gigi were here to see this moment.”

Over five years later, Gozkuchikyan wanted to welcome Dončić with a mural of him alongside the late Lakers legend. Only Gozkuchikyan wanted to make a notable change — he painted Dončić in a Lakers jersey and changed Bryant’s orange WNBA hoodie and green Eagles beanie to purple and yellow, respectively.

The mural immediately went viral, being shared on all corners of social media. Dončić even reposted it to his Instagram story.

“I thought it was just the most proper way of an introduction to Luka coming to L.A.,” Gozkuchikyan said. “LA has a lot of GOATs, but Kobe is our GOAT.”

“It’s unbelievable,” Dončić said in late February about the mural. “You know how much I admire him.”

Dončić is a man of few words during his news conferences. He’s respectful, but he prefers to keep his answers and availability as quick as possible.

“I like short answers,” Dončić joked three weeks ago.

But when it comes to his love for the fans, he is giving with his time. Dončić routinely stops to sign autographs at games — at home and on the road — and even outside of the team’s hotel when arriving on the team bus or leaving for shootaround, practice or games. It’s an uncommon act, especially from a superstar of Dončić’s status. Some players might occasionally stop for an autograph or photo, but Dončić makes it a point to fulfill as many as he can.

His mentor, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, was similar, and Dončić decided as a rookie that regardless of how great or famous he became, he’d always make time to give back to his fans.

“He was a big influence for me and he always stops no matter what,” Dončić told The Athletic.

Dončić remembers what it’s like to be a kid wanting to take a photo or have memorabilia signed by his idols. Those gestures mean something to him.

“I was raised like that,” Dončić said. “I’ve always done it.”

Dončić’s acts within the Los Angeles community and the Lakers fan base have also not gone unnoticed. Within a week of his arrival, he donated $500,000 to the Los Angeles wildfire relief, which took place nearly a month before he was a Laker.

Hours ahead of his first game against Dallas, Dončić had his Hollywood moment when Jordan Brand released an ad featuring a man, presumed to be Dončić, in a gray tracksuit removing a “77” Texas license plate off a purple Koenigsegg. As he moved away to reveal a purple “77” California license plate, “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” by George Strait played in the background.

As the car revved, the screen went black and the message “Full Tank. No Mercy,” flashed in red.

Jordan Brand's ad for Luka Dončić's first game against Dallas since being traded to the Lakers features the song 'All my Ex's Live In Texas' pic.twitter.com/2rmKsAw2FJ

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 25, 2025

Dončić and his shoe sponsor doubled down on his revenge game, teaming up to buy out a lot at the corner of South Figueroa and West 11th Streets. A purple and white sign said, “Free parking. Courtesy of Luka.”

“It’s a kind gesture that’s never been done before,” said Rian, a Lakers fan who attended the game and parked in the free parking lot.

One of Dončić’s under-the-radar acts of kindness happened when he was scrolling through X and saw a tweet from Patrik Zrnko, a 16-year-old from Slovenia.

Zrnko, his mom, Slavica, and younger brother, Brin, had planned a trip to Los Angeles to watch the Lakers play the Milwaukee Bucks on March 20. But with that game concluding a six-games-in-eight-days stretch for the Lakers, Los Angeles decided to rest several key players, including Dončić.

Zrnko tweeted at the franchise that he was saddened that they made such a long voyage to not see the full squad. He tagged Dončić, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent (who’s deactivated his X account), Jarred Vanderbilt and team reporter/broadcaster Mike Trudell.

Dončić was moved by the post. He sent the tweet to his business manager, Lara Beth Seager, saying he wanted to arrange for his foundation to buy tickets for Zrnko and his family.

“For Luka to do that, it means the world,” Zrnko told The Athletic. “He’s the star of Los Angeles and the biggest name in Slovenia. So to reach out to us, it’s like, we didn’t have words.”

Dončić finally said goodbye to Dallas on Wednesday, closing a chapter that saw him take the franchise all the way to the NBA Finals less than a year ago.

As he walked off the floor after tying his season-high with 45 points, his teammates stood up, clapping and cheering for him. Dončić sat on the bench, with his team still on its feet and surrounding him.

The imagery was poetic — Dončić’s new team circling him and forming a barrier of protection.

“They all had my back,” Dončić said of the moment. “That’s what we talk about before the game, and everybody had my back, from coaches to players and we’re trying to build something special here.”

The 112-97 win over the Mavericks guaranteed the Lakers a playoff spot and a top-five finish (based on tiebreakers and the teams they’re jockeying with still having remaining games against one another).

Dončić is tasked with leading both the end of this Lakers iteration and, eventually, the next one. Titles are the expectation and the feel-good vibes will only last so long before there is scrutiny about his place among the franchise’s all-time greats.

But the Lakers, as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, have a real shot to go on a deep playoff run, which would be the third time for Dončić over the past four postseasons.

When asked if he feels like a Laker yet, Dončić told The Athletic he’s still “getting there.” But with each stepback 3-pointer and behind-the-back pass and lob to a rolling big man, he is looking more like himself — all while earning the adoration of the fan base.

“It just feels like getting into a new home, you know?” Dončić said of Los Angeles. “Dallas was my home for seven years, almost seven years. It really felt like home. So, I’m just trying to build a new home and I’m getting more and more comfortable.”

(Top photo: Juan Ocampo / NBAE via Getty Images)