Nearly a month later, people are still struggling to wrap their heads around the Mavericks’ Luka Doncic deal. While Luka is still acclimating to his LA environment, former Mavericks forward, Chandler Parsons, is making bold predictions about his future. Parsons believes next season will be a revenge tour, and the Slovenian star will win the MVP award in his first full season in LA.
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The Mavs recently met the Lakers for their first matchup since the trade. LA hosted, and Doncic led the Lakers to a 107-99 victory. He finished the game with his first Laker triple-double, tallying 19 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
On FanDuel TV’s Run It Back, Parsons speculated that the discourse between these two teams will never stop, and he’s certain Doncic will be out to prove himself. He said,
“[Luka Doncic] is my pick for MVP next year. I feel like he’s going to be on a mission. He’s going to be in the best shape of his life. He’s going to spend all of the offseason proving Nico Harrison he made the biggest mistake of his life.”
“We really traded a generational talent away this year.” – Boogie Cousins
“No, they did.” – Lou Williams
The Mavericks reasons for trading Luka Doncic are still as insane as trading him in the first place @MichelleDBeadle | @ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23 | @BoogieCousins pic.twitter.com/uLLDkYSrGI
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) February 26, 2025
Doncic hasn’t strung together multiple dominant performances yet because his Lakers debut followed a calf injury recovery. However, Parsons believes a fully healthy and motivated Doncic will be a scary sight for the league.
Doncic had aspirations of retiring a Maverick, following in the footsteps of Dirk Nowitzki, but Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison ended that. Parson attests that Doncic will do everything in his power to prove the franchise made a grave mistake.
Doncic tantalized in his first game against his former team
Doncic struggled from the field in his first game against his former team but still put forth a masterful performance. He gave flashes of the greatness he exuded during his tenure with the Mavericks.
The five-time All-NBA First Team member only scored 19 points but impacted the game in other facets. He dominated the glass, leading all players with 15 rebounds while controlling the Lakers’ offense with 12 assists.
Doncic’s divisive playmaking dissected Dallas’ defense leading to wide-open three-point opportunities.
Luka Doncic with a no-look DIME to Austin Reaves for the three pic.twitter.com/Z9FZutDbmC
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 26, 2025
Doncic didn’t have the best performance against his former team, but there remains one more matchup. Luka will return to Dallas for the first time on April 9 at 7:30 PM ET in a game that will be the focal point in millions of households.