Luka Dončić has left Dallas, but his Lakers ‘77’ is seen in and around the city

The morning after the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic, fans gathered outside American Airlines Center to protest the move.

They brought signs declaring their Mavericks fandom dead and laid flowers near the statue of franchise icon Dirk Nowitzki.

A few fans even held a mock funeral, carrying a coffin to the south plaza as Wiz Khalifas See You Again played in the background.

Three dudes brought a coffin to American Airlines Center.

Theyre playing See You Again.

Rest in peace to the Mavs.

pic.twitter.com/0Ndv26vGyb Shawn McFarland (@McFarland_Shawn) February 2, 2025 In the two-plus months since the trade, fan protests have come in many forms.

Some Mavericks fans have chosen to don purple and gold Los Angeles Lakers gear inside American Airlines Center, an act that would have been unthinkable before Feb.

1.

At the Mavericks most recent home game on April 2, The Athletic spotted six Mavericks fans in the lower bowl who were wearing Doncics No.

77 Lakers jersey.

Ahead of Doncics return to Dallas on Wednesday, The Athletic asked these fans how theyve processed the Mavericks decision to trade a player Dallas fans had developed a deep connection with and who, only eight months before he was moved, led the Mavericks to an NBA Finals run.

Still signing them Mavs jerseys.

Pure class.

pic.twitter.com/pAnLSi5off Showtime Luka (@showtimeluka) February 20, 2025 Heres what they said: Helina Hailu, 24 years old, model I remember exactly where I was.

I was sitting on my bed.

It was 11 at night.

For some reason, I couldnt sleep that night.

I checked my phone.

It showed the Shams (Charania) tweet.

I was like, No.

My phone was blowing up.

No one believed it.

I dont think I went to sleep that night.

I was up until the next morning.

I still dont believe it two months later.

Its so sad.

Advertisement I had to get a Luka Lakers jersey because Im going to forever support him.

He did a lot for us, the franchise.

He didnt deserve what happened to him.

He will forever have my support.

Kelly Blair, 41, education technology designer We were season-ticket holders but are not season-ticket holders anymore because of the way they handled the trade.

It just felt like dirty business.

I think (Doncic) handled himself really well.

He stayed above board at all times.

Hes gone.

All he did was play really good basketball.

Chancellor Rose, 29, sales I was pretty upset.

I thought it was not real.

I thought someone was messing with me.

It is what it is, I guess.

I went through the seven stages of grief.

I had to pull up the grief chart and figure out where I was.

Im through it now.

Ill still be a Mavs fan, but now Im also more of a Lakers fan.

Im going to keep following Luka.

Ive got to support my player.

Its like a subtle protest.

Im not going to protest outside the stadium.

But show support for the guy I like.

Brett Price, 30, marketing Ive been a Mavs fan for a long time.

Honestly, I was mad for a while.

I was a Dirk fan forever.

Im a big franchise player guy.

I dont even follow sports too much, but I would always come to a game and watch Dirk all the time.

Everyone followed him.

In college, that was our thing.

We liked to go out and watch Luka play.

It stinks.

I dont want to throw hate and shade at everyone who made the decision.

I know it was a business move.

I dont hate they made the trade, but Im bummed.

Im bummed as a Mavericks fan ...

but I want to support Luka.

Jake Kemp, 39, talk show host I dont know that theres going to be a moment where its over and its processed and theres closure.

Maybe April 9 will help a little bit.

Im sad about it.

Im sad about it as a sports fan.

Im sad about it, as silly as this sounds, as a father.

I have two young kids.

I didnt plan on forcing sports on them by any means, but if its something they have an interest in, its something Id like to share with them.

If you have a generational, exciting NBA player in your backyard, it certainly makes it a lot easier to get into sports.

I think it sucks for the city, and its a very unfortunate series of events.

Advertisement Watching (Doncic) play basketball brings me joy.

It brings other people joy.

I like the feeling when I watch him play.

The fact that his bosses decided they no longer wanted to work with him I think this is a unique situation.

Following the player is not only acceptable.

Its logical.

I grew up hating the Lakers like every Mavericks fan did.

But I wont forget the feeling and, unfortunately, I had the feeling when I had the purple and gold on .

You look in the mirror and youre like, Oh my God.

This is a cool jersey.

(Top photo: Adam Hagy / NBAE via Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.