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The Super Bowl has come and gone, but this year, the NBA does not need to wait for the All-Star weekend to capitalize on the end of the NFL season.
Luka Dončić is expected to make his Lakers debut Monday against the Jazz, a game that ESPN announced Sunday would be flexed into its national TV schedule. The five-time All-Star—who was traded to Los Angeles from the Mavericks on Feb. 1—has not played since Christmas Day due to a calf injury.
It was originally widely reported that Dončić was expected to make his debut Saturday against the Pacers, which led to ESPN adjusting its Friday NBA schedule and Saturday college basketball slate to accommodate the Lakers game. However, on Thursday night, TNT’s Jared Greenberg announced that Los Angeles moved back Dončić’s return. ESPN did not revert its weekend schedule and aired the Lakers-Pacers game despite absences from both Dončić and LeBron James.
Despite the delay, Dončić’s debut Monday has the potential to draw a massive audience for the NBA during a relatively quiet period between the Super Bowl and All-Star weekend. The Lakers and James are already among the league’s biggest viewership draws. This season’s most-watched game was the Christmas Day matchup between the Lakers and Warriors (7.9 million viewers), while its most-watched non-Christmas game featured the same two teams on Jan. 25 (3.05 million viewers).
While those two games aired on ABC, Monday’s Jazz-Lakers game will be broadcast on only ESPN. But it could challenge the Nov. 6 game between the Warriors and Celtics (2.14 million viewers) as ESPN’s most-watched game of the season.
Meanwhile in Dallas
The main reason the Mavericks and GM Nico Harrison dealt Dončić was his behavior and work ethic—and how it could affect his ability to stay healthy. However, one of the criticisms of this logic was that the main piece they acquired to replace the 25-year-old was Anthony Davis, who is notorious for missing time due to injuries.
It took just one game for that criticism to turn into reality.
The 31-year-old sustained a noncontact injury in the third quarter of his Mavericks debut Saturday against the Rockets. ESPN reported Sunday that Davis will be out for “multiple weeks” due to a left adductor strain. Davis, who will start a three-year, $175.4 million deal next season, has played more than 70 games just three times in 13 NBA seasons.
