Luka Doncic is playing the Dallas Mavericks tonight for the first time after being traded. Ahead of the highly anticipated matchup dubbed as ‘Luka’s Revenge Game’, Shaquille O’Neal had a message for the Slovenian from the sets of TNT. The big fella wanted Luka to go out there and send a message through his performance.
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Shaq believes that the Mavs made a mistake by trading the superstar who led them to the Finals last year. In his opinion, Luka can only get his revenge if he destroys their defense at the Crypto.com Arena.
The trade was shocking for everyone, including Luka himself. After being with the franchise since 2018 and doing everything he could to improve the team in the last seven years, Doncic wasn’t treated fairly while he was sidelined due to injury. So, there are enough reasons for him to hold a grudge against the Mavs.
Shaq said, “I would say, go get 50 tonight…let them know they made a mistake. That’s what I’d say.”
When asked if LeBron James would play a role in Luka settling scores with the Mavs, Shaq said, “Luka already has that dog [in him].” However, Shaq believes that LeBron should watch Luka’s first few shots and then take the game forward accordingly.
"Go get 50 tonight & let 'em know they made a mistake" 👀@SHAQ on what advice he'd give Luka in order to send a message 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/wM0SHan1Bq
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 26, 2025
While the big fella is completely on board with the idea of Luka going off against the Mavs, Candance Parker believes it might be an overreaction. She stated that the Mavs didn’t do him dirty, they sent him to arguably the most celebrated franchise in the league.
She also thinks that Luka is not as petty as people think he is, so he is more likely to be invested in winning the game than outlining his franchise’s mistake. She said, “My point is…getting the last laugh, like, this is a battle and I think Luka is into winning the war.” She did, however, acknowledge that the Slovenian will go for a high-scoring game.
"This is a battle. I think Luka's into winning the war" 😤@Candace_Parker sounds off on Luka's mindset on facing his former team moving forward. pic.twitter.com/HdOTRdQOo8
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 26, 2025
But that will be to win another game for his franchise instead of embarrassing his former team. By the time of reporting, the Lakers have a seven-point lead over the Mavericks with a score of 68. Luka has so far put up 14 points with 12 rebounds and eight assists.