When Kevin Durant returned to Oklahoma City on February 11, 2017—months after leaving for the Golden State Warriors—the crowd didn’t hold back. The boos were deafening. Chants echoed through the arena. The emotions? Well, KD stayed locked in, dropped 34 points, and later quipped, “I actually thought it would be a little louder.” Cold. Calculated. Robotic, some would say. And that’s the narrative fans tend to expect: that players leave and move on without flinching. So, when Luka Dončić walked back into the American Airlines Center for the first time since his trade to the Lakers, fans expected more of the same. Really? Think again.

In this entire saga, the script was different ever since the trade happened on February 2. The Mavs fanbase never stopped bleeding from the wound, they never ceased chanting, “Fire Nico”, and they never got tired of saying, “Luka was ours”. The usual was never meant to happen when Luka came back to Dallas, which he has repeatedly referred to as “home” in the aftermath of the trade. Meanwhile, he himself set the tone of his homecoming during the press conference after the Lakers’ second game against OKC.

Luka was asked about his feelings about going back to Dallas. The Slovenian guard let it out all: “It’s going to be a lot of emotions for me. I don’t know what to expect…I am looking forward to being back in Dallas, with the fans, seeing my teammates” and then he corrected it, “ex-teammates.” And when the moment finally came, it was just unfiltered emotion from Luka. Just as the announcement for his tribute video came at AAC, he asked for a towel; probably then, he knew what to expect.

As a beautiful montage of his journey from wide-eyed 2018 draft pick to playoff hero was played on the jumbotron and the crowd roared in appreciation, Luka, not for once, tried to contain his emotions. His eyes welled up, and his jaw clenched. With hundreds of cameras zoomed in, the world saw a flipping of the script, the moral of which was: even professional players care, albeit a handful of them. This struck a chord with WNBA legend Candace Parker, who took no time to highlight it on her Instagram, standing by whom she calls “Luka the Don!”

Reposting the video of Luka’s emotional return, she wrote a quiet but powerful caption: “And some would say it’s just a game… and players don’t care.” As for Parker, it was not without reason that she could relate to the situation. She is a player who’s lived both sides of that emotional equation, knew exactly what she was seeing. She’s been there.

Back in 2021, Candace Parker made her own bombshell move, leaving the LA Sparks after 13 years to join her hometown team, the Chicago Sky. She was the face of the franchise, a two-time MVP, and a city icon. When she returned to LA wearing a different jersey, the reception was split—some fans cheered, and others looked away.

Then, just two years later, after bringing a championship to Chicago in her first season, Parker shocked fans again by heading to the Las Vegas Aces. That move hit differently. She’s from Naperville, Illinois. The Sky felt like home. So when she returned to Chicago as an opponent, she stayed composed. But if you listened closely, you could feel the tension. Still, Parker’s situation was probably less severe because she did not have to be traded, completely unaware, from a place where she wanted to be for life.

Interestingly, when Candace Parker and Luka Dončić first crossed paths in 2021, neither could have predicted how their stories would intertwine in the years to come. Back then, they were simply co-cover athletes for NBA 2K22, making history in the gaming world—Dončić as the NBA’s rising phenom and Parker as the first WNBA player ever to grace the cover. They didn’t know much about each other then. But time has a way of connecting the right people.

Come 2025, and their paths crossed again, as Parker, a respected voice in NBA broadcasting, is calling Luka’s games from courtside. Recently, following an electric Lakers win over the Knicks, Zach Miller of WME reshared an NBA post featuring Luka’s game highlights, which included Parker’s commentary echoing in the background. “Candace Parker on the call of one of the best games of the year,” he wrote on Instagram. Parker responded with joy: “Pinch me ♥️ courtside show working.” Notably, after the game was over, Luka once again gave us a glimpse of exactly how swelled up he was with emotion.

In a conversation with Lisa Salters, he said, “I don’t know how I did it. Because when I was watching that video, I was like, ‘there’s no way I’m playing this game.” And such honest venting of emotions swept the NBA landscape across the board.

Luka Doncic’s unfiltered emotion touches a string everywhere

First, look at the AAC. The environment at the arena was baffling. Or maybe that was normal? The crowd reacted to Luka’s first point with such a roar that for a moment, it was difficult to think that it was an away game for the Lakers. For every basket he made, AAC roared for their former superstar. “Love you Luka” and “77 Forever” banners were everywhere. And his 45 points seemed to give Dallas the renewed energy to chant “Fire Nico.” Meanwhile, throughout the entire process, the Lakers had Luka’s back.

Just as Luka’s name was called after the tribute video, and he entered the court, he had LeBron James for a tight hug that said it all. His other teammates followed suit. After the game, they did everything to cheer up the man of the moment. They themselves chanted “Luka Luka” and also hyped the crowd to do the same. Another round of applause came from JJ Redick for how Luka sailed through his emotions yet pulled off a strong performance.

“The moment with the tribute video and him sitting by himself and getting to actually live that moment and allowing himself to be vulnerable…His ability to then go perform, lights turn on, he’s teary-eyed still as we walk out of the court for the tip ball. To have the emotional resolve to then put that kind of performance, it’s superhuman,” Redick said. Even the cutthroat analysts’ hearts melted.

Kendrick Perkins kind of echoed Redick when he wrote on X, “I have never seen a player display true emotions like this, and still go out and be an assassin.” Along similar lines, Shannon Sharpe wrote, “I’ve seen a lot get tributes in a return. I’ve never seen a player get as emotional as Luka.” Indeed, if you all remember, even Anthony Davis was quite composed when he returned to the Crypto.com arena after the trade. Meanwhile, Nick Wright also went all-out for Luka.

“I simply don’t know how you can’t love this guy. He cares. He is f*****g fantastic. All he’s ever known is basketball. And he’s not afraid to be emotional & vulnerable,” Nick wrote. Probably, that is how history changes its course and new narratives are written. Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the ‘Face of the League. ‘ How about this guy who harbors such a heart full of passion for the sport of basketball?