The Jordan Brand commercial in support of Luka Doncic’s first game against his former team Tuesday was genius.
It featured a person – presumably Doncic though we can’t see a face – changing a purple-and-gold sports car’s license plate from Texas to California.
And the chef’s kiss was the spot’s outro song “All My Ex’s Live in Texas,” the country breakup song made famous by George Strait.
Fantastic. It’s even more cunning knowing that Mavericks president of basketball operations/general manager Nico Harrison worked for Nike for nearly two decades.
In Los Angeles on Tuesday, Doncic conjured some of that Luka Magic with a triple-double: 19 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists, three steals and two blocks in the Lakers’ 107-99 victory against Dallas.
It was Doncic’s first game against his former team since that blockbuster trade rattled the NBA. The deal that sent Anthony Davis and Max Christie to the Mavericks for Doncic still reverberates.
This will suffice. Doncic gets the first last laugh. Who gets the next one remains open. They play again April 9 in Dallas and a playoff series between the Lakers and Mavericks would be spellbinding.
But we’ll see. For now, Doncic is the winner, and the Lakers look formidable with Doncic and LeBron James – a team that has championship potential at the high end and a team that is going to be a difficult out at its baseline.
James scored 16 of his team-high 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the James-Doncic pairing – even with James at 40 years old – is one of the league’s most potent offensive duos. They showed that in a 123-100 victory against Denver on Saturday, a game in which the two stars combined for 57 points (Doncic had 32), 19 rebounds, 12 assists, five steals and four blocks.
They’re just warming up. Most games, opponents will need to put up a big score to beat the Lakers. On Tuesday, the Lakers’ defense held the Mavericks to less than 100. The Mavericks were without Davis, who is injured.
At All-Star Weekend 10 days ago, James said, “Just the excitement of being able to add a caliber player like that, a generational talent like that to our franchise, it’s something that’s given me energy. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do. … As he continues to get in form, I think we could be really good going down the stretch. But we’ll see what happens.”
For a team that is 35-21, in fourth place in the Western Conference, the Lakers have the sixth-best odds to win the title. That’s what Doncic, a five-time All-NBA selection who turns 26 Friday, brings.
Now, he’s been injured for a portion of the year. Tuesday was just his fourth game since playing on Christmas, and that was part of the reason the Mavericks traded him. There are concerns about his health and long-term availability.
While Doncic understands this is a business, in making a business decision, the Mavericks concluded they could not win a title with Doncic. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not four months from now. Not next season. Or the season after. Not ever.
That made it personal along with whispers on his way out regarding concerns about his weight, conditioning and dedication to basketball.
There is belief that this trade has detonated a desire within Doncic to prove the Mavericks wrong.
But ads, marketing, words alone and even regular-season triple-doubles with Harrison at Crytpo.com Arena watching in person won’t get it done.
It’s one of the most mesmerizing storylines in league history.
The basketball – beautifully spinning off his fingertips into the basket or into a teammate’s hands – is in Doncic’s court.