The emotional Slovenian message for Luka Doncic at his Dallas return: here’s what it means

Luka Doncic will return to Dallas tonight to face his former team for the first time since they traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has become the enemy of the Mavs fans as he orchestrated the trade, while Doncic himself has always been and will always be a beloved part of the franchise. The game tonight will be an emotional one for everyone, but one thing is for sure: the fans love Luka.

What does the Slovenian text written on the shirts at the Mavs game mean?

Doncic has faced the Mavs once since the trade, but it was in LA. This time, he’ll be going to his former home of seven years at the American Airlines Center, which will bring with it a whole slew of other emotions.

The Mavericks will have shirts set out on the stands with “Hvala za vse” written on them. In Slovenian, Doncic’s native language, that means “thanks for everything”.

In their last meeting, Luka recorded a triple-double, with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists in the Lakers’ 107-99 win over the Mavs. The Dallas fans are clearly ready to embrace Doncic upon his return, but there’s no telling how Doncic will feel with this emotional roller coaster.

“Of course, it’s going to be a lot of emotion for me,” Doncic said on Tuesday. “I don’t even know what to expect. I don’t know how I’m going to feel, honestly. I know I’m looking forward to being back in Dallas, obviously with the fans, teammates - ex-teammates. It’s going to be very emotional for me for sure.”

Besides the emotions of the game regarding Luka’s return, there are also playoff implications adding to the drama. The Lakers are looking to lock up the No. 3 seed and going 2-1 to finish the season would do that. As LeBron James, Luka’s new teammate said, he’s ready to do “whatever Luka needs” to support him, but “winning would be the best solution”.

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