The first matchup of the 2025-26 NBA season between Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic and his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, might be coming earlier than expected.
According to a report by NBA insider Marc Stein, the Mavericks and Lakers are lining up to play a preseason game against each other in October prior to the start of the new season.
The game would be played in Las Vegas, according to Stein.
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Mavericks
Should this come to fruition it will be an early-season matchup between two teams that had long summers, as the Mavericks failed to make the playoffs after falling in the play-in tournament, and Luka and the Lakers were ousted in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Mavericks and Lakers played each other twice after the stunning trade of Doncic in February, once in Dallas and once in LA. The Lakers won both matchups, with Doncic posting a triple-double in the first game and scoring 45 points in the second, tying a season-high.
Each team will be coming off its first offseason after the massive midseason deal that sent Doncic west and brought Anthony Davis to Dallas.
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