The bond between Luka Dončić and his “Hermano” Kyrie Irving is unbreakable. Not even the most shocking trade in NBA history that saw Dončić unceremoniously getting shipped to the Los Angeles Lakers could tear them apart.
Dončić is still keeping tabs on Irving and was the first to express concern when the Mavericks star guard suffered what looked like a serious knee injury during their 122-98 blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, March 3.
The new Lakers star reposted Irving’s courageous act of shooting his free throws with tears rolling down his cheeks after suffering the injury from Bleacher Report’s House of Highlights with a face holding back tears and praying emojis.
via Luka Doncic InstagramLakers star Luka Doncic expresses concern after his ex-teammate Kyrie Irving suffered a knee sprain.
The Mavericks labeled Irving’s injury as a left knee sprain pending MRI.
Irving sustained the injury while driving to the basket late in the first quarter. He lost his balance as he tried to elude past Kings swingman DeMar DeRozan, causing him to land awkwardly on his left leg, with his knee appearing to have hyperextended as he came crashing down to the floor.
Kyrie Irving’s Kobe-esque Moment
Irving bravely shot the free throws, a scene that was eerily similar when his childhood hero, the late Kobe Bryant, made two foul shots after suffering an ACL tear in 2013 that signaled the decline of his career.
“That’s just who, I mean, Kai’s a tough guy,” Kidd told reporters after the loss. “I asked him as they were taking him off the court, ‘Are you good if you leave without shooting? You’re ruled out.’ So they took him to the free-throw line, and he shot the free throws and then we got him out.”
Irving’s injury is another brutal loss for the Mavericks, who were already without their top three big men including Anthony Davis, the centerpiece of the Dončić trade.
“Just unlucky,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd told reporters. “I hope that he’s healthy, that it’s not serious.”
It was the second straight loss for the Mavericks and their fourth over their last five games. They are now 6-7 since they traded Dončić for Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick.
Luka: ‘Kyrie Is My Hermano’
Irving revealed his deep bond with Dončić was forged by their overseas trips with the Mavericks when they faced Real Madrid in Spain in 2023 and the Minnesota Timberwolves in Abu Dhabi last year.
“For me, I think there was respect there before playing together,” Irving told reporters after their first meeting as former teammates in Los Angeles on Feb. 25. “But playing with him, he’s just an innocent kid. Ultra talented. Whole world is in front of him. You want to protect people like that too. Because I feel like sometimes people come at him crazy. And he responds in his own way. He’s not from America. He’s not used to the culture here. My goal is to just protect him. That’s why it goes deeper than basketball.”
A still shell-shocked Dončić dropped his first triple-double (19 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks) as a Laker to beat Irving and the Mavericks that day. But after the game, Dončić showed love and appreciation for his former running mate.
“Kyrie is my hermano,” Dončić told reporters. “We go way beyond basketball. It was good to see those guys. We went to wars together, and it was really fun to see them all.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Luka Dončić Posts Heartbreaking Message to Kyrie Irving After Brutal Injury appeared first on Heavy Sports.