In February of 2025, the entire landscape of the NBA changed when the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. While most of the attention has been on Doncic ever since, Davis finally told his side of the story on a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show on YouTube.
Anthony Davis on being traded for Luka Doncic:
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“If I ever got with Luka oh my gosh. So when he said traded to Dallas, I was like get the f**k out of here. And I said who the f**k they going to trade me for Luka n****? Who else can you trade me for on that team?”
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Davis said he was watching a movie with his wife when Lakers GM Rob Pelinka tried to call him. Davis missed the call, but was ultimately reached by his agent, Rich Paul.
“So I’m like, what up Rich? He’s like, man, they just traded you to Dallas. And I’m like, man, shut up. I said, who the f*** they gonna trade me for, Luka? Like, I was just saying, like, who else can you trade me for on that team?”
He then spoke to Mavs GM Nico Harrison, who confirmed the move. Stunned by the late-night trade, Davis called Pelinka back, who reiterated that the news was true. Then, ESPN insider Shams Charania broke the news on X.
“So I’m like, you know what? I go on X, go straight to Sham’s page, nothing. Go up the stairs, Joel Embiid calls me,” Davis said. “Somebody else called me, another player. And I’m like, wait, hold on. So I go back to Sham’s page, and then there it is.”
Davis spent over six minutes giving a more detailed timeline of the night while speaking to Green on the show via video call.
Davis was dealing with lingering injuries at the time and went on to play just 29 games for the Mavericks before they traded him to the Washington Wizards at this year’s trade deadline.
The Wizards announced on Tuesday that Davis is expected to be out for the remainder of this season with a lingering finger injury.
James Parker contributed to this story.
