Mavs Players Reportedly Preferred Road Games Due to 'Fire Nico' Chants at Home Games
The Dallas Mavericks have reportedly been dealing with some home-court disadvantage ever since now-former general manager Nico Harrison traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.
After the Mavericks fired Harrison on Tuesday, NBA insiders Jake Fischer and Ian Begley reported Dallas players preferred to play on the road at times compared to home because of the "Fire Nico" chants that happened during games at American Airlines Center.
Begley noted the players weren't judging fans for their feelings but rather just having a "human reaction" to playing through the chants and the overall atmosphere in those home games.
ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported on the situation and noted "maintaining decent morale" has been difficult for players with a 2-5 record on their home floor this season.
"These people don't want us to win," one player said, while big man Daniel Gafford added that tuning out the fans' focus on Harrison has been difficult "at times."
Monday's home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks felt like the last straw with team governor Patrick Dumont sitting next to someone with a Los Angeles Lakers No. 77 Dončić jersey. The fan told Devon Henderson of The Athletic that Dumont expressed regret for the headline deal that brought Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick to the Mavericks.
Davis was sidelined with a calf strain, which was notable because durability has been a concern at times throughout his career. That includes last season, when he played just 14 regular-season games for Dallas due to an abdominal injury.
The "Fire Nico" chants were audible a number of times during the fourth quarter of what proved to be Harrison's final game as the GM.
The fans' love of Dončić is anything but surprising, as he was the franchise cornerstone with five First-Team All-NBA selections, a Rookie of the Year, five top-10 finishes in MVP voting and five All-Star Game nods on his resume by the end of his age-24 season.
He also led the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals and figured to be the face of the team for another decade or more much like Dirk Nowitzki was for so long.
Yet that plan ended when Dallas agreed to send him to the Lakers in a stunning trade that is still hovering over the franchise.
Dončić is averaging 37.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game for the 8-3 Lakers, while the Mavericks are dealing with injuries to Kyrie Irving and Davis and sit near the bottom of the standings at 3-8.
