'When you give so much to a franchise and..': LeBron James Reacts to Luka Doncic's Emotional Performance Against the Mavericks

Luka Doncic faced his former side the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday and recorded a triple-double, which contributed to the Lakers' thrilling win over the Mavs. Doncic raked in 19 points in the game, plus registered 15 rebounds and 12 assists in the match. The Lakers emerged victorious with a scoreline of 107-99, and Doncic's performance may have rubbed further salt in the wounds of the fans' who are still dreading his departure from the franchise.

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LeBron James Lauds Luka Doncic on Not Letting Emotions Get the Better of Him

Following the culmination of the game, the Lakers' main man LeBron James expressed his thoughts on Doncic playing against his former side and stated that emotions must have flowed during the game. Luka Doncic spent seven glorious years with the Mavericks and during that period he went on to become the face of the franchise. Despite his stature as a generational talent, the Mavericks opted to let him go in the trade window. The decision infuriated the Dallas fans, who now could not help but witness the star player score against them.

"Obviously there's a lot of emotion that goes in when you give so much to a franchise and you sacrifice for a franchise and you have that type of love and respect for a franchise -- throughout all the journeys," James said of Doncic. 

James noted the history between Doncic and the Mavericks to assert that it would have been emotionally taxing for the guard to play against the side whose success mattered the most to him at one point. James lauded Doncic for handling everything well.

"They went to the Finals, all that stuff. He's grown from being an 18-, 19-year-old kid to now a 25-year-old man with a family. ... And when you move on or they move on from you, it's very emotional, obviously. It's very taxing," he added. "It's probably a lot of things that were going on in his head that probably didn't even involve the game itself. And with that said, I thought he handled it tremendously."