DALLAS _ Even now, four months into her son's electric rookie NBA season, the eardrum-piercing crescendos during every Mavericks home game are no less treasured by Mirjam Poterbin.
These public-affection eruptions often are triggered by one of her son's step-back 3-pointers. Or one of his full-court drives and finishes. Then public address announcer Sean Heath punctuates the din.
"Luuukaaa!"
Imagine being Luka Doncic's mom. Watching your teenage son capture hearts and pique imaginations not only in his new home city, but around the world. Hearing and feeling 20,000 American Airlines Center fans' repeated embraces.
"Of course that feeling is amazing for me," Poterbin said. "He's my son. He's my world. So whenever he's happy, I'm happy.
"When people cheer so much, really, I cry sometimes."
Clearly Dallas loves Luka, but how much does Luka love Dallas?
The question might not seem pressing, with Doncic under contract through the 2021-22 season, but, in today's NBA, star players' contentment is profoundly pertinent.
LeBron James' summer-of-2010 bolt from Cleveland to Miami spawned a new era of roster-structuring, of star players seizing power by joining forces with fellow stars, of franchises yearning to become star-clustering destinations.
The basketball world now knows the Mavericks' draft-night, reach-for-a-star trade gamble succeeded, beyond the imagination of even the Dallas franchise's brain trust of owner Mark Cuban, president Donnie Nelson and coach Rick Carlisle.
And this week, culminating what could become the most momentous pre-trade-deadline flurry in franchise history, the Mavericks acquired a potential star in 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis and cleared enough salary cap space to entice another this summer.
Perhaps more valuable than financial allure, the Mavericks now offer opportunity to play, and flourish, alongside a point guard who keeps attaining rookie-season milestones that place him in the company of generational players like James, Steph Curry, Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson.
The prevailing national narrative is that New York, Los Angeles and powerhouse Golden State are the only player-magnate NBA markets. League officials, though, are quick to point out franchise success stories in Milwaukee, Toronto, Denver _ and the Luka lovefest blossoming in Dallas-Fort Worth.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver attended Wednesday's Mavericks-Charlotte game at American Airlines Center in which Doncic registered his third triple-double in 16 days.
As he left the arena, Silver paused and shared his Doncic impressions to The News.
"It's not just his effect on the Dallas franchise, but his effect on the NBA, everywhere," he said. "To see a young player that skilled and playing with that much joy is something fans around the world are taking note of.
"And so, having just watched the game here in this building, I don't remember this arena being this electric in quite a while. And with Porzingis joining this team once he's healthy, I think Luka recognizes that this is just an incredibly fortunate situation for him.
"And there's no question that the fans of Dallas are reciprocating. I mean, just sitting in the stands and talking with the folks here, they just love him. This is a franchise on the rise, no doubt about it."
