Doncic, who had dragged an otherwise unremarkable Mavericks team through the Western Conference, became the face of their failure. Dallas coach Jason Kidd was forced to come out and defend his maligned star, even though without Doncic, the Mavericks were a faded Kyrie Irving and a bunch of role players.

Dallas built its team’s identity around Luka Doncic, on the court and off. Now that he’s gone, some supporters no longer feel a connection to the franchise.

The Lakers formally welcomed Dončić on Tuesday, less than three days after they traded Anthony Davis and Max Christie in a three-team deal for the Slovenian scorer who won his first scoring title last season before leading the Mavs to the NBA Finals. Dončić is a five-time All-NBA selection and a five-time All-Star.