“Dear Dallas..” on social media caused an overwhelming wave of support from Luka Doncic fans. A player from the NBA hasn’t traded in over 50 years after leading the league in playoff scoring, which speaks volumes about whether this was a competent decision. Last season in the NBA Finals, the Mavericks were led by Luka Dončić, and now he is being traded to the Lakers without any warning. He has made a huge impact, not only on the court but off of it as well, and has become a huge idol to people of all ages. His trade sparked protests in Dallas, his home.

“At first, I thought it was fake, and it really hurt,” senior Isaac Bongonko said. “This doesn’t even make sense. Why did this happen? I thought the guy who posted this got hacked.”

Doncic’s trade information came out Feb. 1 at 11:12 p.m. by Shams Charania, an NBA insider. This caused disbelief and doubt among many fans, though the next day. The Mavs publicly confirmed the trade. Nico Harrison, the Mavs’ General Manager, spoke about the decision, explaining that the trade is approved.

“He’s a combination of play types we’ve never seen before,” Bongonko said. “He’s six-foot-seven, but he can pass like the best of them, shoot, and he always shows up and plays his heart out, which makes him one of the best players in the game.”

This was the start of the outrage of protest caused among fans. Hundreds of Dallas Mavericks fans protested Luka Dončić’s trade to the Los Angeles Lakers in front of the American Airlines Center. Many fans gave away their tickets on Feb. 8 after finding out about the trade and held up signs to protest. A lot of the signs bashed Harrison for his decision and called for his firing.

“On the Dirk statue outside the American Airlines Center, inscribed on it, it says ‘Loyalty never fades away,’ and that speaks to the sentiment we have in the Dallas Mavericks organization,” Bongonko said. “It hurts to see how they did it with no warning to the fans or anybody.”

Despite the ongoing distress it caused fans, Dončić dropped 14 points in his Laker debut against the Jazz, with special advisor for Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki watching in support. Nowitzki expressed that he would always be a Mavs fan but had to come out and support Luka. He entered the game alongside professional basketball player  LeBron James, a notable player who is on the top 10 all-time leaderboard with Dončić. These two players will be unstoppable on the court.

“When you have two of the smartest players playing the game, I’m sure they can figure it out and work together to eventually deliver the city of LA a championship,” Bongonko said. “Which sucks because I wanted it to be the Mavericks.”

The chosen player being traded to the Mavericks is Anthony Davis. Although he is a competitive athlete, during the Mavs’ debut, he sustained a concerning injury. This may become a setback for their team, as they don’t know when he will be able to return. Their frontcourt will be in deep trouble, as three of the players are injured.

“This is easily the worst trade in sports history,” Bongonko said. “A 25-year-old entering his prime, an MVP candidate, one of the best, fully committed to his team, and then, in the middle of the season, he’s gone. And the guy we get is a 31-year-old who got injured after his very first game and might be gone for the rest of the season.”

An upcoming game on Feb. 25 will have the Mavericks playing against Dončić, now on the Mavs. NBA fans highly anticipate this game, which will likely determine whether the trade was the right decision for the Mavs.

“I think the Lakers will definitely beat the Mavericks, and honestly, I kind of hope they do,” Bongonko said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Luka walked in there and just destroyed the Mavericks.”

Mavericks fans even held a “funeral” to protest his trade, showing the great lengths fans will go to make sure their voice is heard. Although the trade let down many fans, they continue to stand by his side and fight for Dončić.

“A lot of people feel betrayed, and Luka didn’t even know about it. When he found out, he started crying, and I cried multiple times as well because it’s just so frustrating for a franchise to throw itself away like that,” Bongonko said. “It’s not just us that feel the pain—he does too.”