The November holiday movie slate is usually peak season for the ‘one that got away’ trope. But Luka Doncic is giving Ayesha Curry’s Second Chance Holiday a run for its money. Doncic was back in the lineup to continue his dominant start to the 2026–27 NBA season on Monday night, but he saved his sharpest moves for the Atlanta Hawks’ courtside fans. Doncic led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 124–114 victory over Atlanta at State Farm Arena, and not only did he put on a masterclass performance to lift Los Angeles to a league-best 10–2 record, but he also took time to remind the home crowd of the pivotal choice their franchise made eight years ago.
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Several fan-taken clips of the exchange made it online, and the exchange was also reported by Michael J. Duarte of The California Post. During a stoppage in play, Doncic engaged in a candid exchange with spectators sitting near the baseline, bringing up the 2018 NBA Draft transaction that sent him to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Trae Young.
“You all wish you would have had me. You all wish, huh?” Doncic taunted courtside fans, drawing mixed reactions from the fans.
“We drafted you,” one fan fired back.
Another heckler tried to dismiss the sentiment, shouting, “No, we don’t, I’ve never wanted you.”
Doncic wasn’t having it, doubling down on the reality check with a grin: “You know you could have had me.”
The truth of the statement hit home for at least one spectator in attendance, who audibly admitted, “I wish we did, I do,” while another fan recording the interaction laughed and conceded, “He’s right.”
Doncic had every reason to grin: another Lakers win and a direct jab at the Hawks, serving as a direct reminder of the trade that altered the trajectories of two organizations.
The 2018 trade, which saw Atlanta swap Doncic’s draft rights for Young and a 2019 protected first-round pick, has long been debated. While Atlanta initially enjoyed postseason momentum with a run to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals, the roster stagnated in subsequent years. Young has since been traded to Washington.
On the flip side, the Mavericks infamously traded Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis. They’ve since dismantled that entire trade by sending Davis to Washington too. Meanwhile, Doncic continues to cement his status as one of the most dominant forces in modern basketball history.
Monday’s performance on the floor backed up every bit of Doncic’s courtside trash talk. Playing without Austin Reaves, Doncic filled the stat sheet with 32 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, five steals, and two blocks on 11-of-22 shooting from the field.
But the monster stat isn’t the only trend with Luka & the Lakers. It’s become an entertaining little pattern for Doncic to chirp at bystanders for some extra motivation. He recently got a fan ejected during the Kings game, which some say was another way to get himself fired up.
While he was absent during Sunday’s Pistons game, it was Austin Reaves who got into a viral exchange with a spectator. Bronny James didn’t play that game but even had words with a Detroit fan who was later escorted out of the game.
Tonight, no paying customer of State Farm Arena had to be led out of their seat. Instead, Hawks fans saw the one who got away amass 393 points across his 10th game of the 2026-27 season, all while improving his averages to 40.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game on 49.8% shooting.
His 393-point total marks the third-highest scoring output by any player through the first 10 games of an NBA season, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain’s legendary campaigns in 1961–62 (496 points) and 1962–63 (529 points).
Long past his draft-night picture in a Hawks cap, Doncic is now thriving in Los Angeles and powering the Lakers to a six-game winning streak, and clearly relishing the opportunity to deliver both a statistical beating and a verbal reality check to the team that traded him away on day one.