Luka Doncic was out for personal reasons during the Dallas Mavericks’ recent game against the Memphis Grizzlies. We learned later on that he missed the game to welcome his baby daughter Gabriela to the world. The 24-year-old superstar shared the good news on his Instagram, posting a heartwarming picture of his newborn on the platform.
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Returning to action yesterday, Doncic gave a special tribute to his daughter by wearing a special edition of Luka 2s against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Her name Gabriela was written on the side of the sneakers. He also made the occasion memorable by dropping a monster triple-double of 36 points, 18 assists, and 15 rebounds. Despite the triple-double, the Dallas Mavericks eventually lost 120-126. However, they went down fighting and creating history in the process.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Mavs were down 24 points. However, a historic 30-0 run took them to 117-111. This was the single greatest run without letting the opposition score since 1996-97. However, the Thunder regained their focus and put up a 15-3 run to finish the game off. This became the first time that a team went on an unanswered 30-0 run in the PXP Era.
The Mavericks’ 30-0 run in the 4th quarter is the longest run without allowing an opposing team basket in the PXP era (since 1996-97). This occurred from 11:09 to 4:18 in the 4th Quarter (111-87 to 111-117).
Previous record: Cavaliers – 29-0 run (CLE v MIL, Dec. 6, 2009) https://t.co/JvVXDCGbOt
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) December 3, 2023
Although Doncic couldn’t celebrate Gabriela’s birth with a win, he is the only player to have dropped the 30/15/15 stat line twice in the last 40 seasons. With the loss, the Mavs have dropped to 11-8, standing sixth in the standings in the West at the time of writing. They have now lost six of their last ten games.
Luka Doncic isn’t the first one to dedicate a shoe to his daughter
Apart from Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo also dedicated a shoe to his daughter earlier this year. On 17 September 2023, his partner Maria Riddlespriger gave birth to their daughter Eva Brooke Antetokounmpo. He marked the event by wearing his new Freaks 5 with the hot pink colorway scheme. The name Eva was written on the side of the shoe. Apart from that, Stephen Curry has also showered his daughters with a lot of love.
He has released a bunch of shoes dedicated to them. The Curry Flow 10 ‘Unicorn & Butterfly” is the declaration of his love to his daughters. The butterfly and unicorn print make for an incredible tribute to Riley and Ryan. Earlier, his Curry Flow 8 was designed by those two. The Curry Flow 9 “For the W” also had these butterflies and unicorns, the geometric images that are tattooed on parents Ayesha and Steph.
