Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic is not receiving much love from his former team, as the Dallas Mavericks’ social media team edited out the five-time All-Star guard in a recent hype video on X.
Dallas Mavericks Replaced Luka Doncic With A Silhouette And A Team Logo In Their Social Media Hype Video
The Mavericks posted a video on Friday featuring several players on the team, with Doncic seemingly replaced by a silhouette and a team logo in brief clips (at 1:15 and 1:52 in the video below).
Earlier this month, the Mavs traded Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for a package involving Anthony Davis and a 2029 first-round pick. This shocking trade came a season after Doncic led Dallas to the NBA Finals.
The original video on X was deleted by the Mavs on Friday at 9 p.m. ET.
“You can imagine how surprised I was,” Luka Doncic told The Associated Press after the trade. “I had to check if it was April 1. I didn’t really believe it.”
The Mavs could have edited Doncic out of the hype video to focus on the active players. However, Maxi Kleber and Quentin Grimes — who were both traded away before the deadline — are still visible in the video.
Former Mavericks employee Bobby Karalla also added on X that covering up former players in social media videos has been a longstanding team policy:
Former team guy here! Every year we had to get rid of images of traded players representing the team ASAP across all media. Social, website, videos, magazines, yearbook, etc. They don’t work there anymore. I know emotions are still high, but this isn’t anything out of the norm. https://t.co/6C2gSgqPHG
— Bobby Karalla (@bobbykaralla) February 21, 2025
Several Mavericks fans are continuing to boycott games. Three days after the trade, Dallas lost nearly one million Instagram followers, dropping the team’s total from 5.3 million to 4.6 million.
According to RotoGrinders, Doncic gained almost 400,000 new Instagram followers during that span, while the Lakers saw an increase of over 185,000 followers since landing the five-time All-NBA member.
Fan Backlash Continues In The Wake Of The Doncic Trade
Hundreds of fans gathered outside the American Airlines Center after the trade to protest and mourn the loss of their Slovenian superstar. Some supporters even brought a casket and held a mock funeral for Doncic’s time with the team.
The Mavericks have also offered refunds to fans who have canceled season tickets in the wake of the trade.
Per Paul Livengood of WFAA Dallas, there was “at least one season ticket holder who asked for a ticket cancellation and will be getting a refund, according to an email correspondence between the ticket holder and a team employee.”
The refunds are for the Mavericks’ remaining home games this season. Since Dallas had 16 home games left this regular season at the time of the report, the refund was valued at approximately $2,000.
Livengood also noted there was a GoFundMe started to raise money to buy billboards to let the Mavericks know how upset they were with the Doncic trade. A brewery in the area also started selling a “sell the team” beer.
“We value every season ticket member relationship and reps are available to take calls from members with any concerns or questions,” Mavs vice president of corporate communications Erin Finegold said via text message.
Mavs Fan Ejected For Clash With Mark Cuban Mulling Lawsuit
In addition, Mavericks fan Chris Taylor, who was among the spectators ejected from the Feb. 3 matchup with the Sacramento Kings at American Airlines Center for a heated exchange with minority owner Mark Cuban, told TMZ Sports last Saturday that he’s mulling legal action over the incident.
To put it plainly, nothing has gone right for Dallas since the trade. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said the Mavs made the decision to move on from Luka Doncic because of his “constant conditioning issues” as well as the “looming commitment” of a contract extension during the 2025 offseason.
Doncic was eligible to receive a five-year, $345 million extension in the summer, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Instead, the 25-year-old can sign a five-year contract worth $229 million with the Lakers.
Despite fan backlash, the Mavericks are still set to honor Doncic’s overall tenure as a member of the organization in the months ahead. Dallas is reportedly planning a tribute video for Doncic when the Lakers travel to the American Airlines Center on April 9.
