Luka Doncic Leads The Lakers Against The Mavericks In Their First Meeting Since The Seismic Trade

Luka Doncic is facing the Dallas Mavericks 23 days after they shocked the NBA by sending him to the Los Angeles Lakers .

The Mavericks visit the Lakers on Tuesday night for the teams' first meeting after the most surprising sports trade in years . The Lakers gave up Anthony Davis and Max Christie in the deal to acquire Doncic, last season's scoring champion and a five-time All-NBA selection.

Doncic was widely assumed to be untouchable as one of the league's best players at just 25 years old - and particularly after carrying the Mavs to the NBA Finals last season. Dallas general manager Nico Harrison disagreed, and the Lakers eagerly gave up a championship-winning big man to acquire a younger foundational talent for the next decade and beyond.

Doncic declined to speak about the matchup after practice Monday, but his new teammates and coaches expect the Slovenian superstar to handle it gracefully.

"I think he's going to be excited, but everybody in the locker room is excited," said Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith, Doncic's former teammate in Dallas. "We've got his back. It's going to be a hard-fought game. I know Mavs coach Jason Kidd is going to have them ready to come in here and compete, so we've just got to match their intensity."