The Dallas Mavericks are watching Luka Doncic absolutely demolish them while wearing a Los Angeles Lakers jersey in his first road game against the Mavericks since they traded him away in February. As Doncic dominates on the court, the Mavericks fans continue to resent their team general manager, Nico Harrison, for trading Luka away.
Fans have protested against Harrison consistently since the trade, so today’s game was bound to turn into a protest as well. The fans started calling for Nico’s dismissal just five seconds into the game.
“FIRE NICO” chants ERUPT 5 seconds into the game 😭
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) April 9, 2025
If the chants weren’t enough, plenty of fans snuck in ‘Fire Nico’ signs to display to Doncic and others on the court.
“Fire Nico” signs while Lakers’ Luka Doncic is at the free throw line in Dallas return pic.twitter.com/C3tyVboewm
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 10, 2025
The chants would keep happening at the free-throw line throughout the game. The Mavericks broadcast even tried showing all fans the NBA Code of Conduct to minimize hate against Nico and other Mavs.
Literally the whole AAC is yelling “Fire Nico” 😭
(via @noahweber00) pic.twitter.com/HzwKHU0aOS
— MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) April 10, 2025
Even when the game was winding down in the fourth quarter, Mavericks fans weren’t satisfied. Despite being in the middle of a competitive game, they once again showed Nico with chants about his dismissal as Mavs’ players shoot free throws.
Loud “Fire Nico” chants while Max Christie is at the free throw line in the fourth quarter. pic.twitter.com/VyHjoEDBtE
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) April 10, 2025
Media members caught Nico’s reaction to these chants, keeping a poker face on while knowing an entire arena of his team’s home fans want him gone. Given the Lakers showered him with ‘Thank You, Nico’ chants when the Mavs visited them in February, it’s safe to say fans in Dallas believe they’ve been given the short end of the stick.
Nico Harrison listening to the “Fire Nico” chants… pic.twitter.com/wgeiApWx29
— Landon Thomas (@sixfivelando) April 10, 2025
Doncic himself commands more fandom in Dallas than the franchise that occupies the city right now. Why wouldn’t he, especially after averaging 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists over his six-and-a-half seasons on the Mavericks? He took them to the 2024 NBA Finals and never got the chance to even defend that honor with the Mavs.
It looks like Dallas will be condemned to the NBA lottery unless they somehow win the Play-in Tournament to qualify for the postseason. If they play like the team we saw today, there’s no way they’ll even sniff the Playoffs outside the one Play-In Game they’re virtually locked into.
Nico Harrison likely won’t pay for the grave mistake of trading Luka Doncic away. The franchise and ownership clearly backed his move, even though it’s going to cost the franchise nine figures in lost revenue. Instead of going back to the Finals, the Mavericks are going to the Draft lottery, a stark fall from grace for the reigning Finalists.
At least Doncic has a shot at retaining his Western Conference Finals MVP trophy, with his Lakers a far more competitive team than the Mavericks.
