Luka DonΔiΔ said the best part about coming home to Dallas was that he could sleep in his bed and be reunited with his fans. Photo: Sam Hodde/Getty Images
π Naheed here. Last night was weird, but it was also cathartic.
Why it matters: Like many Mavericks fans, I've basically experienced the five stages of grief since Luka's trade to the Lakers.
My dog's name is Luka. My cousin almost named his son Luka.
Fun fact: My husband is a huge Lakers fan. My nightmare was his Christmas.
We wore our respective teams' gear at last night's game, agreeing to not get salty over the final score.
Kevin and Andrew Dorf were season ticket holders-turned-Lakers fans last night. "This is my last game," Kevin Dorf told Axios. Photo: Naheed Rajwani-Dharsi/Axios
The intrigue: I've attended many games at the AAC, but this was the first time I've seen our hometown fans cheer for the visiting team.
Instead of following the announcer's "Let's go Mavs" and "defense" prompts, fans chanted "Fire Nico," referring to Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison.
Several fans told me they want the Mavericks' management to see how unhappy fans are with the trade.
"I was a season ticket holder. I canceled my season tickets as soon as the trade happened," said Mitch Jones, who wore a Lakers Luka jersey to the game.
Dallas will never forget Luka. Photo: Naheed Rajwani-Dharsi/Axios
Zoom out: A local artist painted a mural in Dallas' Cedars neighborhood depicting a large dark blue hat with duct tape saying "Fire Nico."
"What can I say, I'm a Capricorn. I ain't letting nothing go fr," artist Juan Velasquez wrote on Instagram.