Lakers' LeBron James Praises Luka Doncic After Emotional Win vs. Mavs in Dallas

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James gave teammate Luka Doncic his proverbial flowers Wednesday night after Dončić dominated during a 112-97 road win over his former team, the Dallas Mavericks.

Following his shocking trade from the Mavs to the Lakers in February for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, Wednesday marked Dončić's first game back in Dallas as a visitor.

Dončić received a warm welcome from the fans and was honored with a video tribute. The enormity of the situation moved him to tears, and he admitted after the game that he wasn't sure how he was going to perform, telling reporters: "After that video, I was, like, 'There's no way I'm playing this game.' It was so many emotions."

In the end, Dončić didn't just perform, he dominated. The Slovenian led all scorers with 45 points on 16-of-28 shooting, plus he contributed eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.

James praised the five-time All-Star for excelling under difficult circumstances, telling reporters: "You can call that an out-of-body experience then, because he was locked in from start to finish."

While the Dončić-for-Davis swap shocked the basketball world, it has proved to be a great move for the Lakers now that the dust has settled to some degree.

The superstar duo of Dončić and James has L.A. in third place in the Western Conference with a 49-31 record, marking the Lakers' most wins in a season since they won 52 games in 2019-20 en route to their most recent championship.

During his seven years in Dallas, Dončić was a five-time All-Star, plus he finished third in the NBA MVP voting last season and played a major role in the Mavericks making it all the way to the NBA Finals.

It can be argued that the Lakers have two of the 10 best players in the league right now in Dončić and James, which makes them a legitimate threat to go all the way and win a championship this season.

With the emotions of his return trip to Dallas out of the way, Dončić can now focus entirely on helping the Lakers win a title along with LeBron, which is a scary prospect for the rest of the NBA.