Anamaria Goltes saw plenty of purple and gold Monday night as her fiancé, newly acquired Lakers guard Luka Doncic, made his debut for Los Angeles following a wild trade from the Mavericks earlier this month.
In photos shared on Instagram, Goltes wore a gold T-shirt with Doncic’s No. 77 on the back as she held the couple’s young daughter, Gabriela, inside Crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers torched the Jazz, 132-113.
“New chapter,” Goltes captioned the post, adding purple and yellow heart emojis.
Goltes also zoomed in on the purple and gold bows tied in Gabriela’s hair in a separate snap.
In his first game since Christmas, Doncic recorded 14 points, five rebounds and four assists as the Lakers improved to 32-19.
“I was a little nervous before,” said Doncic, who had been nursing a calif injury. “I (don’t remember) the last time I was nervous before the game. But once I stepped on the court again, it was fun. Just being out there, it felt amazing.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick, who was once teammates with Doncic in Dallas, said the five-time NBA All-Star “played really well” in his first game for LA.
“Knowing Luka, whether he will admit this or not, there was probably a little bit of nerves playing for the Lakers for the first time, and the anticipation that this building had,” Redick said.
“I thought he handled it really well, and he played really well tonight. … He didn’t make it about Luka. He made it about playing good basketball and playing Laker basketball.”
The Lakers will next visit the Jazz on Wednesday night.
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Doncic, who was at the center of a trade that sent shockwaves through the NBA.
In the early hours of Feb. 2, the Mavericks sent Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers and received Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick in return.
The Jazz, the third team in the transaction, landed guard Jalen Hood-Schifino and two second-round draft picks from the Clippers and Mavericks for 2025.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, who has been on the receiving end of fan vitriol following the seismic shift, stressed the “vision and the culture” he and head coach Jason Kidd have been building.
“As we turn the page, I think it’s important to know that [Mavs coach Jason Kidd] and I, we’ve had a vision and the culture that we want to create since we’ve been here,” Harrison said, per ESPN.
“The players that we’re bringing in, we believe, exemplify that. We think defense wins championships, and we’re bringing in one of the best two-way players in the league.”
Davis, a 10-time All-Star who won a championship with the Lakers in 2019-20, is now out indefinitely after sustaining an injury in his Mavericks debut over the weekend.
Much like his former team, Doncic is focusing on the road ahead after a shocking turn of events.
“At some point, I knew this was going to happen, but I always take the high road,” Doncic said at his introductory press conference Feb. 4.
Goltes has been by Doncic’s side every step of the way, even posting a goodbye message to the city of Dallas.
The couple announced their engagement in July 2023.
