Grief is such a difficult construct. There are stages in the grief process, but no exact timeline exists for when one starts and ends. Three years ago, I lost my mother. It was a devastating and heartbreaking moment in my life. I’m not alone. Luka knows, too.
Luka’s return to Dallas was a mixture of grief and celebration. From the moment he arrived in the arena, love gravitated. Stepping on the court, Luka Doncic heard the cheers and felt the flashes of cameras. In some ways, Luka was home. Luka and Dallas became synonymous.
I watched the series against the Minnesota Timberwolves last year with the infamous shot of Luka’s trademark step-back three over Rudy Gobert. When that shot went in, it confirmed what I had begun to think over the past years of watching Luka play.
If he weren’t the best player in the NBA, he would be in the Top Three: Joker, Giannis. Steph Curry, and SGA. All those choices are reasonable, but Luka deserves consideration. He dismantled the Minnesota Timberwolves, and after they lost that series, the Timberwolves disbanded their whole team.
The Dallas Mavericks organization created a tribute video for Luka. As we watched the video, we also watched Luka. Luka was in tears. He was grieving for what had been lost. Only two months prior, the NBA world had been rocked with the news that he was being traded. No one was more shocked than Luka. As he watched the tribute, it was apparent that it still hurt. Of course, good moments were shown throughout the video, but the reality was still there. Luka was a Laker now. As he rose from his seat when the announcer introduced him, the Dallas fans cheerfully serenaded him. They still loved him, even as he was wearing purple and gold.
Luka as a Laker (photo courtesy Spectrum News)
That night, Luka scored forty-five points. Every time he touched the ball, he was cheered. Every time he made a three-point shot that seemed improbable for him to make, the crowd was in awe. Nico Harrison, the Dallas GM who had made this trade, stood in the corner of the court tunnel, seeming to be less noticeable. But the Dallas Mavericks fans knew he was there, and no, they had not forgiven him. “LUKA” chants cascaded over him when Luka checked out of the game near the end of the fourth quarter. His Lakers teammates also chanted his name. It was goodbye to what had been a roller coaster of a night.
Watching that game made me think of my grief journey. I was rocked by the suddenness of my mom’s passing. Two months after her passing, I was still going through the motions. Every day seemed more challenging than the last. I barely slept. Even burying myself in day-to-day activities was very difficult to do.
Although our losses were different, I can understand the suddenness of it all. Luka never asked to be traded. Luka never wanted to be traded. He saw his career beginning and ending with the Dallas Mavericks. He had embraced the city of Dallas, and they had embraced that young kid from Slovenia with open arms. All that had ended in hours, and he was on a plane to Los Angeles.
The criticism of Luka Doncic is, in the lamest terms, what it is. Was he overweight? Did he lack discipline? Did he not commit to basketball like the Dallas brass wanted him to? Does he complain to the referees too much? Is he a liability on defense? Is he the guy to lead a championship team? The criticism is what it is. Every great player, past and present, is criticized in one way or another. Even if Luka wins five championships, criticism will follow him.
One thing is for sure: the Mavericks organization took a considerable risk. They traded a generational talent in his prime. They gave the Lakers their new face of the franchise after Lebron James. Nico Harrison betted that he was making the right decision. That’s how the business of sports works. Everyone makes decisions based on their determination of what the best is. A lot of time, humanity and emotion are left out.
Luka has grieved for the past two months and probably continues to do so. Every time he walks into the American Airlines arena in Dallas, he will remember what it was like. He will remember the good memories, and he will remember the hard ones. There will undoubtedly always be pain surrounding the situation. That is not to say that Dallas fans will stop loving him or that he will ever think of them with ill will. Luka doesn’t blame the Dallas fanbase. He will always be grateful for embracing him and for riding with him through the good and bad. I can’t speak for Luka Doncic and would never claim to, but there is no greater sadness than abrupt loss and any human being who has ever felt it knows that to be true.
It has been three years since my mother passed away. Admittedly, some days are harder than others, even now. Sometimes, I must catch myself because it will feel like it just happened yesterday.
Writing about sports is a great passion of mine. I have loved basketball since I was younger and would spend hours shooting a basketball into a rickety hoop in the backyard. I remember when Jordan went to the Wizards, Kevin Garnett won a championship in Boston, and Lebron went to Miami. I remember the day Kobe Bryant passed away. I remember the first time I watched Luka play.
Luka is one of the greatest players in the NBA—make that in the world. But for a few hours, he was just a regular human being processing grief on a Wednesday night. He came out on the other side. That’s what any of us who have dealt with loss can only hope for.
