The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired star guard Luka Dončić in a stunning trade that sees Anthony Davis heading to the Dallas Mavericks, according to reports confirmed by CBS News Los Angeles.
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In a move first reported by Shams Charania from ESPN, the deal also involves the Utah Jazz, who will receive Jalen Hood-Schifino, the Lakers’ first-round pick in 2023, a second-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft via the Clippers and a 2025 second-round pick from the Mavericks. The Clippers pick comes from a four-team trade in 2023.
Los Angeles, currently 28-19 and fifth in the Western Conference, will also receive Markieff Morris and Maxi Kleber, while Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick will be going to Dallas, 26-23 so far this season and eighth in the division.
The trade is already being referred to as one of the biggest in the history of the National Basketball Association. It comes just days before the Feb. 6 Trade Deadline, which typically sees a flurry of surprising deals, but rarely any — if ever — of this magnitude.
“The Mavericks approached the Lakers recently and offered Luka Doncic, sources tell ESPN,” said another post on X from Charania. “Lakers brass met and believed the 25-year-old Doncic has the ability to be the face of their franchise for the next decade while giving Anthony Davis a win-now move in Dallas.”
Davis, lauded for his defensive prowess, joined the Lakers in 2019 as part of another massive trade that saw Los Angeles send three first-round picks and three young players to the New Orleans Pelicans. Since then he’s helped the Purple and Gold secure one NBA Championship in 2020 and the NBA Cup in 2023. He was named to four All-Star Games and one All-NBA First Team berth while with the Lakers.
Currently he’s averaging 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, according to Basketball Reference.
His time with the Lakers has been somewhat marred by injuries, especially in recent seasons. Between the 2020-21 season and the 2022-23 season, Davis played in just 52% of the Lakers’ 236 games due to a slew of injuries that include an MCL sprain and various other lower body injuries.
Following the trade, Mavericks’ General Manager Nico Harrison told ESPN that defense wins championships.
“I believe that getting an All-Defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We’re built to win now and in the future,” Harrison said.
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Dončić, a 25-year-old who hails from Slovenia, has been the face of the Mavericks since he was drafted in 2018 following three professional seasons in the EuroLeague. He’s a five-time All-Star, a five-time member of the All-NBA First Team, the 2019 Rookie of the Year and he was 2024’s scoring champion. He was instrumental in Dallas’ appearance in last season’s NBA Finals, a loss to the Boston Celtics in five games.
This season he’s averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game, per Basketball Reference.
While speaking on SportsCenter, Charania said that LeBron James had “no idea this was coming” and that Dončić was “still stunned.”
In 2018, Dončić told reporters at a Mavericks Media Day that James was his favorite player to watch as he grew up.
“He’s like my idol,” Dončić said at the time.
The move comes on the anniversary of the trade that brought Pau Gasol to the Lakers on Feb. 1, 2008, what many fans view as the instrumental piece to the team’s back-to-back NBA Championships in 2009 and 2010.
