I have no hard data to back this up, but I have to think that dermatology appointments are about to skyrocket in the greater Los Angeles area.

That’s because Lakers fans can’t stop pinching themselves in order to be convinced that yes, that Luka Doncic trade really did happen.

Doncic made his much-awaited debut in purple and gold on Monday night, and it was the perfect time to do so, as the Lakers played what amounted to a glorified scrimmage against the lottery-bound Utah Jazz.

L.A. led by 25 at halftime and never had to sweat in the second half, which allowed Doncic to play just 24 minutes in his first game back since injuring his calf on Christmas…

Like any red carpet event, the stars turned out to Crypto.com Arena to welcome Doncic to the team, including Adele, Floyd Mayweather, Rams receiver Puka Nacua and Will Ferrell, who looked resplendent in a truly magical hat.

Doncic admitted to feeling nervous for the first time in forever, but he said, “Once I stepped on the court, it was fun. Just being out there again felt amazing.”

He didn’t put up his customary numbers, going just 5-14 from the floor for 14 points with five rebounds and four assists, but he didn’t need to, either.

This was just the first of what fans hope will be many more games for Doncic in a Lakers uniform. Here are the three best things we saw in his debut.

Dirk Nowitzki showed up to lend his support

The Mavericks have completely alienated their fanbase not only for trading Luka in the first place, but for all the ways they’ve put him down since he’s been gone. Who knows what went on behind the scenes, but outwardly, Doncic has always seemed like a team-first, fun-loving, hyper-competitive guy, which is exactly what any team would want from its franchise superstar.

Instead he’s being portrayed as a plaintiff in the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni case.

Mavs general manager Nico Harrison is persona non grata in Dallas right now for criticizing Luka’s commitment to staying in shape.

Inanely, he even cited Shaquille O’Neal as an all-time great player that was deeply committed to fitness, despite Shaq constantly being attacked during his career for getting by more on his talent than his work ethic.

Whether Harrison believes these things or is just grasping for straws as he tries to convince Mavs fans that he made the right move in trading Doncic, badmouthing a guy that’s beloved by your fans is a shortsighted move that will have players questioning whether they want to sign with Dallas in the future to risk the same treatment.

Mavs fans know what’s up, which is why they’ve been staging what amounts to a non-violent protest since Doncic was traded.

They brought a coffin to the American Airlines Center to signify the death of the franchise. They brought “Fire Nico” signs to the stadium and got ejected for it.

One fan even mouthed those same words when he got on the Jumbotron, leading to him being escorted from the arena, as well.

Two others were thrown out for yelling at Mark Cuban.

That’s an odd choice considering Cuban reportedly tried to stop the Mavs from making the trade at the 11th hour, but Mavs fans are so angry and hurt that it’s hard to blame them for lashing out.

The best player in Mavs history, Dirk Nowitzki, made it clear that he’s still in Doncic’s corner by showing up to see his Lakers debut.

As international superstars that have been the face of the franchise in Dallas, Nowitzki and Doncic have been close ever since the young Slovenian came into the league.

Nowitzki said on X on Monday night, “I will always be a Mav for life, but had to come support my guy 77 @lukadoncic in the first game of his new chapter!” To thank him, Doncic even hit one of Dirk’s patented fadeaways.

Nobody believed Harrison’s smear campaign anyway, but to see Nowitzki supporting Doncic is ironclad proof that Doncic wasn’t a problem in Dallas. If the Lakers had even the slightest bit of concern before (they didn’t), then they really don’t now.

Being traded hurt, but Luka already has his basketball joy back

NBA fans have spent the last two months watching Jimmy Butler throw an extended temper to force his way out of Miami. Butler spoke about how he had lost his “basketball joy” with the Heat and needed to be somewhere else to get it back. Doncic’s debut was the opposite of that, because there were more than enough smiles to go around all night long.

Some Lakers fans worried after Doncic’s introductory press conference that he wasn’t excited about being a Laker. He said the right things, but his energy was low and he spoke a lot about Dallas.

The truth is, he was still reeling from the shock of being traded from the only NBA team he’s ever known. Basketball superstars are human too, and Doncic had just had his life upended with no warning whatsoever.

His debut was all joy. Doncic was smiling all night, as were his teammates and all of the fans clad in No. 77 t-shirts that came to welcome him to L.A.

It was a good old-fashioned lovefest at Crypto.com Arena. The best play of the night may have been when Doncic hit James on a full-court outlet pass, smiling in gleeful surprise when he saw his new teammate get open.

In an effort to put his best foot forward in his new city, Doncic even announced before the game that he was donating $500,000 to those affected by the recent wildfires. Talk about making a strong first impression.

The Lakers continued their winning ways

This has been the wildest NBA trade deadline in history, and the Lakers have a lot to do with that. Not only did they trade for Doncic, they also made news for trying to acquire Hornets center Mark Williams, though the deal was rescinded when Williams failed his physical.

All of the off-the-court news has obscured the fact that the Lakers, whether they’ve had Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, LeBron James or none of the above, have been playing like one of the best teams in basketball.

The Lakers beat the Pacers last week thanks to a 45-point effort from Austin Reaves as James and Doncic watched from the bench.

They’ve gotten contributions up and down the roster, from Dorian Finney-Smith and the recently rejuvenated Gabe Vincent to Rui Hachimura and Jordan Goodwin, who has balled out since joining the team on a two-way contract two games ago.

A short-term worry in acquiring Doncic was that team chemistry might take a hit as he acclimated to his new teammates and vice-versa.

That doesn’t seem to be a problem, as Monday’s game was the Lakers’ sixth straight win, 10th in 11 games, and seventh by double digits in that stretch.

A month ago, the Lakers looked like they’d be fighting for their lives just to steer clear of the play-in. Now they’re looking like a team that has the potential to get as high as No. 2 in the West.