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Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James revealed Tuesday that he, like many basketball fans across the world, initially thought news of the Lakers trading Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Dončić was fake.
While addressing the media Tuesday night, LeBron talked about his feelings on the deal when he initially heard it on Saturday night and when he finally realized it actually happened:
"The first time I heard it I thought it was for sure fake. I thought it was a hoax, people messing around, whatever. But then AD called me, AD FaceTimed me, and I talked to him for quite a while. Even when I got off the phone with him it still didn't seem real. It still pretty much didn't seem real until I saw Luka today and then I saw a clip of AD at the Dallas shootaround. That's when it finally hit me like, 'Oh s--t, this is real.'"
Shockingly, the trade was indeed real, as the Lakers sent Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick to Dallas for Dončić, Maxi Kleber and Markieff, completing one of the biggest and most unexpected blockbusters in the recent history of sports.
ESPN's Shams Charania was the first to break news of the trade late Saturday night, and there were several minutes in between his initial post on X and confirmation from other major accounts.
There was a great deal of confusion among fans and analysts alike during that time period, and the confusion only grew when it was revealed that the trade was indeed happening.
Dončić, 25, spent his entire seven-year NBA career in Dallas before the trade, earning five All-Star nods and five All-NBA selections.
Just last season, the Slovenian star led the NBA in scoring with 33.9 points per game, finished third in the NBA MVP voting and helped lead the Mavs to the NBA Finals where they fell to the Boston Celtics in five games.
Every indication was that Dončić would be the face of the franchise in Dallas for many years to come, and Mavericks fans were eagerly anticipating his return from a calf injury suffered back during their Christmas Day game.
The 31-year-old Davis arrived in L.A. in 2019 as part of a huge trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.
He was brought in to form a superstar duo with James, and that decision paid instant dividends, as the Lakers won a championship in 2020.
AD proved to be an excellent complement to LeBron over his six years with the Lakers, earning four All-Star selections during that time and averaging 24.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.2 blocks per game.
Injuries were really the only thing holding Davis back in Los Angeles, but last season was the healthiest of his career, as he played in 76 games.
Davis was also enjoying a healthy 2024-25 season until recently when he suffered a strained abdominal.
In 42 games this season, Davis was arguably the Lakers' best player even ahead of LeBron, averaging 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.1 blocks per contest.
Despite Davis being one of the best all-around bigs in the game, it is understandable why the Lakers traded him for Dončić, as Luka is significantly younger and should keep L.A.'s championship window open longer.
The Mavericks' motivations are less clear, as they traded their young franchise cornerstone for a player who may be exiting his prime soon.
An argument can be made for the combination of Davis and Irving being more complementary than Dončić and Irving, and AD could keep the Mavs in contention in the short term, but their championship window is undoubtedly shorter now.
Dončić's arrival puts the Lakers in a position where they can potentially continue to be a top team even after the 40-year-old James retires, assuming they are able to sign Dončić to a long-term extension at some point.
Neither Dončić nor Davis have debuted for their new teams yet as they continue to work their way back from injuries, but once that happens in the near future, it will likely go a long way toward helping everyone come to grips with the fact that the trade actually happened.
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