Luka Doncic sends 4-word message to Don Nelson after legendary Mavs HC rips franchise for trading him
LA Lakers star Luka Doncic sent a message to former Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson after he received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award during the NBA Finals.
Nelson showed his support for Doncic during his facilitation by rocking a pair of Luka 4s. He also criticized the Mavericks for trading the Slovenian.
Doncic was traded for Anthony Davis in a shock move in February.
"Luka, too, my dear friend, in fact, I want everybody to know I am wearing Luka's shoes, his new shoes from Nike. Just got on the market. I'm wearing them in protest for the trade from Dallas. I think it was a tremendous mistake by the Dallas franchise to trade him," Nelson expressed.
Doncic was quick to congratulate the legendary coach on Instagram.
"Congratulations, coach! Nice shoes," he wrote.
Nelson received the Chuck Daly Award for his contributions to the league as a coach. After winning five titles as a player, the Michigan native joined the Milwaukee Bucks as a coach in 1976 and spent 12 years with them.
Following his tenure with the Bucks, Nelson coached the Warriors and the Knicks between 1988 and 1996 before joining the Dallas Mavericks in 1997. He spent eight years with the Mavs before re-joining the Warriors in 2006 and ultimately retiring in 2010.
The former Laker was voted NBA Coach of the Year thrice and was included on the list of top 10 coaches in NBA history.
Luka Doncic reflects on his upbringing in European basketball and the importance of having tough coaches
On the "Mind the Game" podcast, Luka Doncic reflected on his upbringing. He expressed the importance of having tough coaches while sharing a story from his time in Europe.
"I think one example is we were up, it was quarter finals or round of 16, we were up 30 at halftime, and I was bull s*itting a little bit. He yelled at me, he made me cry. This coach changed how I view basketball. ... I think everybody needs it to be like a really good player, you need that guy that'll tell you everything," Doncic said.
Luka Doncic spent three years in Spain with Real Madrid before moving to the NBA in 2018.