"I miss him so much": Lakers' new man Luka Doncic once made his feelings known about $55,560,960 teammate

Luka Doncic’s trade to the LA Lakers is the most shocking in NBA history. Aside from the shock factor of him going to LA, there are more subtexts about the trade, including Doncic’s reunion with former teammate Dorian Finney-Smith.

Doncic and Finney-Smith became teammates in the 2018-2019 season when the Atlanta Hawks drafted Doncic before being traded to the Mavericks on a draft night trade. Finney-Smith had a four-year, $55,560,960 contract with the Mavericks. The two played for five years in Dallas. Doncic was the facilitator and Finney-Smith helped as the floor spacer, utilizing his shooting threat.

Doncic and Finney-Smith bonded in Dallas. So, when the latter was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in the middle of the 2022-2023 season, Doncic was candid about his departure when they faced off again as opponents.

“That’s my guy. I miss him so much, and I know, at some point, we’re going to play [together] again for sure.” Doncic said in a postgame interview in the 2023-2024 season.

Finney-Smith was key in the Mavericks’ Western Conference finals run in the 2022 NBA playoffs. He was a terrific three-and-D player alongside Doncic and now New York Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson.

After spending three seasons with the Nets, Finney-Smith was traded to the Lakers this year in a deal involving him and former All-Star D’Angelo Russell.

With the trade on Sunday, Doncic is set to play again with Finney-Smith in LA. The Lakers roster now has five former Mavericks players, including Doncic, Finney-Smith, other players part of Sunday’s trade such as Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris, and big man Christian Wood, who spent one season with Dallas in 2022-2023.

Lakers’ new star Luka Doncic will face the Dallas Mavericks for the first time in February

The Luka Doncic trade to the Lakers shook the NBA to its core. With a trade that big, the next Lakers-Mavericks matchup is set to be one of the most anticipated games of the regular season.

Doncic and the Lakers will welcome the Dallas Mavericks to the Crypto Arena on Feb. 25, marking the first game since the trade ended Anthony Davis’ run with the Lakers.

Doncic and Davis remain sidelined due to injuries during the trade. Both are expected to be fully healed once they meet again in LA.

The game will also be the first time Doncic will face the Dallas Mavericks in his career, following a nearly seven-year run with them, which included a trip to the NBA finals last year.

Meanwhile, Davis will be back in LA as a foe for the first time since he forced his way out of the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019.