It’s fair to say that the Dallas Mavericks’ stunning decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis and a first-round pick might have caught not just fans and media members off-guard, but potentially everyone in the NBA… including the players involved in the deal themselves.
This trade was so out of nowhere that most assumed Shams Charania of ESPN was hacked when breaking it on his Twitter account until confirmations started to come in from other media outlets. And according to Shams in a subsequent TV appearance, NBA fans aren’t the only ones struggling to process maybe the biggest scoop of his career:
“This deal materialized in the shadows … LeBron James had no idea this was coming. Anthony Davis had no idea this was coming. I’m told Luka Doncic is still stunned about this trade.”@ShamsCharania on the Anthony Davis-Luka Doncic trade between the Lakers and Mavericks pic.twitter.com/Hp4bL3UX2M — ESPN (@espn) February 2, 2025
Longtime James chronicler Dave McMenamin (also of ESPN) provided more details from New York about just how shocked James and Davis were:
LeBron James learned of the Davis-Doncic trade after the Knicks game when it broke while he was out to dinner with his family, sources close to James told ESPN. James was surprised by the news, is processing it and had no idea it was in the works, sources said. — Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 2, 2025
.@mcten said Anthony Davis was texting players after the Lakers win over the Knicks, unaware of the looming trade
NBA players were just as shocked as the rest of us about the Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic trade
