The Los Angeles Lakers acquired veteran point guard Isaiah Thomas ahead of the NBA trade deadline earlier this month, but it wasn't until Friday night that he made his debut at the Staples Center. Thomas scored 17 points while dishing four assists and snatched two steals in his home debut in a convincing win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Following the 22-point victory over the Mavs, Thomas spoke to the media in front of his locker at the Staples Center for the first time since being traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The well-traveled guard talked about his first game on home court as a Laker and how it made him feel. The crowd gave Thomas and Lonzo Ball, who had missed 15 games with a knee injury, a loud ovation when they both checked into the game in the first quarter.

“For sure, there's always excitement when you come to Staples Center,” Thomas said. “You play the Lakers, or you're playing on the Lakers. Now I'm on the Lakers. It was a really cool feeling to have.”

Thomas also talked about whether Kobe Bryant spoke to him after he had been traded to Los Angeles.

“Yeah, he was one of the first guys to reach out to me,” Thomas said of Bryant.

Thomas went on to tell the media what Kobe told the 29-year-old after it was official he'd be playing in a Lakers uniform for the rest of the season.

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“I like you better in L.A. anyway,” Kobe told Thomas.

The 5'9″ guard out of Washington was one of the few players challenged by Bryant ahead of the 2017-18 NBA season. Thomas' hip injury which kept him out the majority of the season derailed any chance of him accomplishing that goal, but it's no secret that Bryant sees something special in the two-time All-Star.

With Thomas' debut out of the way and the Lakers on a roll at home having won nine straight games on their home floor of the Staples Center, Los Angeles will go on the road to play a lengthy six-game road trip.

Thomas and company will play one of his former teams in the Sacramento Kings in the second game of a back-to-back on Saturday followed by a game across the country against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. The Lakers won't play again in Los Angeles until March 5 when they host the Portland Trail Blazers.