Bobby Ayala Sr. and his son, Bobby Jr., couldn’t believe their rotten luck when they saw the ominous weather forecast.
Ice? Why, of all winter days, did it have to happen on the Saturday for which they months ago shelled out $1,500 to watch Luka Doncic return with his Lakers to face the Mavericks in American Airlines Center?
“I hoped they would change the game to another date,” Bobby Sr. said. “That was a lot of money to pay.”
Worse, the Ayalas live in Wichita Falls, 125 miles northwest of Dallas, where the icy conditions were even more dicey.
Mavericks
The NBA’s longstanding no-refunds policy left the Ayalas with three options: Attempt to make the trip and hope for the best; eat the tickets; or try to sell them.
They opted to make the drive and, fortunately, arrived in American Airlines Center about an hour before tip-off. A trip that usually takes two hours took the Ayalas three hours.
Bobby Sr., 40, wore a blue Mavericks Cooper Flagg jersey. Bobby Jr., a 16-year-old junior at Wichita Falls Memorial, wore a Doncic Lakers jersey.
Bobby Ayala Sr. (right) and Bobby Ayala Jr. made the trip through a winter storm from Wichita Falls to Dallas to see Luka Doncic and the Lakers face the Mavericks on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in American Airlines Center
Brad Townsend
“No way we were going to miss it,” Bobby Jr. said.
The Ayalas counted themselves fortunate. Many other fans weren’t as fortunate, and took to social media to air frustrations.
Mavericks and American Airlines Center officials did what they could to ensure fan safety, but as of the 7:30 tip-off time, it was clear the weather had a chilling effect on attendance. AAC was roughly 90% full.
Longtime Mavericks fan Jeff Lampkin used the situation to his advantage, albeit reluctantly. He estimates that for the past decade-plus he attended about 20 games a year, but he had not been in American Airlines Center since the Mavericks traded Doncic last Feb. 1.
“I’m only here tonight because he’s here,” said Lampkin, pointing toward Doncic as he warmed up. “And the storm hit and I could get a seat.”
Lampkin said he paid $600 for his seat, about 20 feet behind the Lakers’ bench.
“Because of the storm, ticket prices dropped like three times what they would normally be when he’s here,” Lampkin said. “Like, I had stopped. I wasn’t going to give Dallas any more money, but when I could get this close for this price to see my boy . . .”
Lampkin is well known among Mavericks fans for the videos he has produced through many years of sitting near the court, during which he became familiar to Doncic and friendly with Doncic’s trainers.
After Doncic was traded, nearly 15,000 fans viewed Lampkin’s 10-minute YouTube video titled “I Was There For His First Basket, His Last & Many In Between. Farewell Luka Doncic.”
Lampkin did not wear Mavs or Lakers colors Saturday, but, rather, a T-shirt with a photo of Doncic and Kobe Bryant.
Jeff Lampkin, donning a t-shirt with Kobe Bryant and Lakers star Luka Doncic, was among those who braved the elements to see Doncic’s return to American Airlines Center on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.
Brad Townsend
“I have no team,” Lampkin said, glumly. “Like tonight people are asking, ‘You pulling for the Lakers?’ No. ‘Mavs?’ No. I’m only pulling for Luka.
“I work in Austin during the week and people were like, ‘You need to come to a Spurs game.’ Went to a couple and stopped.
“It’s the weirdest thing.”
Unlike many, though, at least Lampkin, the fan without a team, got into AAC to watch his favorite player. On an icy night in Dallas.
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.