He can laugh about it now, but February 2 brought a moment of pain and frustration to Luka Doncic.
Doncic spent his first six full NBA seasons with the Dallas Mavericks.
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Mavs GM Nico Harrison says he has ‘no regrets’ after Luka Doncic trade
After being a superstar from Real Madrid in the European League, Doncic came to the Mavericks in 2018. He became a five-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA First Team selection, and an NBA scoring champion in 2024. Dallas had not encountered much excitement since its 2011 NBA Championship season with Dirk Nowitzki, so having Doncic was very special for fans.
He brought a lot to the Mavs and thought the team would be his forever home, until it was not.
Doncic was dealt away for two players — including Anthony Davis — and a 2029 first-round pick to the Lakers. He’s infused new life into LeBron James and a Los Angeles team that’s in the Western Conference playoffs as the No. 3 seed.
Doncic averaged 27.6 points per game in 28 matchups with the Lakers, including 15 games of 30 more points.
The talented Slovenian makes up a marquee big three of himself, James, and Austin Reaves, but now he is searching for his career first NBA championship.
Doncic has moved forward since the trade, but he always has a reminder of it. He detailed to ESPN’s Malika Andrews his daily motivation from the trade.
Doncic damaged his cell phone upon getting news of him being traded.
The phone still works, despite the damage.
Luka Doncic tells @malika_andrews about throwing his phone and breaking it when he found out he got traded to the Lakers ????
“My heart was broken honestly.” ???? pic.twitter.com/rfsIGlOaBC
— ESPN (@espn) April 18, 2025
“It still works,” Doncic said laughing about his broken phone. ”
Doncic said he mostly felt sadness on the day he was traded.
“I was still in shock,” he said. “It was crazy shock. I felt like my heart was broken, honestly.”
In his return to Dallas, Doncic dropped 45 points on his old team. He made seven 3-pointers (10 attempts) and shot 16-for-28 from the field in a 112-97 victory for the Lakers. Doncic also had eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals. He ranked his best performance as the best of his career because of the fans that supported him in Dallas and his new teammates around him.
Doncic wanted to finish his career in Dallas, but he is about moving forward.
He has no conversations with Mavericks’ general manager Nico Harrison who he has ‘no regrets’ about trading Doncic.
It is going to be fun if the Lakers and Mavericks meet up in the playoffs.
Stephen M. Smith is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him him X via @CoachingMSmith.nath
