LOS ANGELES — Dallas Mavericks big man Anthony Davis wasn’t available to play against the Lakers in his return to Los Angeles, sitting out on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena because of a strained left adductor (inner thigh).

But the Lakers still honored Davis with a 2 1/2-minute tribute video midway through the first quarter of Tuesday’s game — featuring highlights of the 10-time All-Star’s 5 1/2 seasons in Los Angeles.

“I just miss being around him every day,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game. “He’s a fantastic human being. Wonderful teammate. For a guy who is a superstar, who has been in the Olympics and won the Finals and All-NBA, probably had a decent amount of skepticism with a coach who has never coached before — a former podcaster, if you will. For him to just accept me and be open to a relationship and to coach him was bigtime. It speaks a lot to who he is as a person.

“And I certainly miss him as a player, but certain inside jokes we had — it’s just a pleasure to be around him.”

Davis, who turns 32 next month, was a member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team, helped the Lakers win the NBA title in the bubble in 2020, and — like Luka Doncic, the player he was traded for in the shocking deal on Feb. 1 — is a five-time All-NBA selection.

He finished his Lakers tenure with the one NBA championship, four All-Star selections (2020-21, 2024-25) and a pair of All-NBA honors (2020, ’24).

Christie’s return to L.A. is chance ‘to move on’

Mavericks wing Max Christie was on the Lakers’ team bus after scoring 15 points in their Feb. 1 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden when he received a phone call that changed his life.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, while Christie was heading back to the team’s hotel in New York City, immediately added Redick to the call — which was a sign to Christie to expect something.

What Pelinka told Christie was life-changing information that became public not long after the call: the third-year wing was being included in the blockbuster trade that brought Doncic to the Lakers and sent 10-time All-Star big man Davis to Dallas.

“Just a lot of emotions,” Christie said of the immediate aftermath of the call. “Phone call happens, you get told the news and you just have to right away, first off you compartmentalize and you feel everything, but you gotta move on to a new team, a new place.

“And phone calls are made to try to get you to transition smoothly and whatnot, but calling my family and friends and letting them know about what happened. A lot of moving parts and there’s a lot to explain, but at the end of the day, it is a business and this is what we sign up for.”

Christie, 22, was back in Los Angeles when the Mavericks visited the Lakers on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena — the first time the teams have squared off since the trade that shocked the entire NBA.

“A little bit,” Christie responded when asked after the Mavericks’ Tuesday morning shootaround if it was “weird” being back in Los Angeles but as one of the Lakers’ opponents.

“Being here and not being like in my own apartment or coming here this early to the arena to do a shootaround is a little unique for me. But I’ve had a lot of baskets in here and I feel very comfortable here, so the weirdness has subsided a little bit.”

Christie added: “I didn’t expect to be as, not emotional, but just to feel the feeling that I felt. Just coming back here and a lot of memories in this place, a lot of memories in this city. It’s cool to be back, though.”

Christie, who the Lakers drafted in the second round in 2022, spent the first 2 1/2 seasons of his career with the team. He expected Tuesday’s game would help provide closure three weeks after the trade,

“This is a good step for me in the right direction to move on,” he said. “To be here for a different team, trying to win against the Lakers is something I can’t say until now. It’s interesting, I’m looking forward to (Tuesday). And at the end of the day, I’m just looking forward to having fun and trying to win a game. It’s nothing more than that.”

Christie has stepped his game up since joining the Mavericks, averaging 15.3 points (50% shooting — 43.6% from 3-point range), 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals in his first eight games.

“Max, since the day I took the job, was someone that I was very high on,” Redick said. “Really, him and (Jalen Hood-Schifino) were the first two guys that we got our hands on because we weren’t with the Summer League team all that much. Just feel very invested for the rest of my life in his career.

“He’s someone who, throughout our time together, was given more opportunity and became someone who starred in his role. He has a lot of freedom in Dallas that, frankly, he didn’t have here. At some point, he would have had it here, but I’m really happy to see him succeeding.”