As those tears streamed down Dončić's face, as the cheers roared even more, perhaps the reality set in for all sides. Dallas was his kingdom and the Mavericks were his franchise. Unlike virtually every Laker great in recent memory, Dončić didn’t choose Los Angeles — he was sent there. Sure, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant were selected to wear Laker gold, but they had an amount of agency in matters.
Dončić did not pick the Lakers, even if he could very well be in the perfect situation for the next decade. The emotions are still very raw, and the Lakers have been respectful in how Dončić has dealt with the last two months.
“The moment, the tribute video and him sitting by himself and getting to actually live that and live in the moment and allow himself to be vulnerable,” Redick said. “Some of his teammates got emotional, some of the coaches got emotional. It was a beautiful moment.”
Dončić has never been one to hide his emotions and doesn’t appear to want to. He took one wistful look back at the Mavericks faithful, then disappeared into a haze of purple and gold jerseys, Laker fans who’ve cheerfully adopted him as their own — while his original adopted home wished the bad dream would end and he would come back home.
Source: Vincent Goodwill, A ‘beautiful moment’ for Luka Dončić, a lingering nightmare for Dallas
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