In a trade agreement so stunning observers questioned whether his social media account had been hacked, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that the Mavericks have agreed to send perennial Kia NBA MVP candidate Luka Dončić to the Lakers in exchange for 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis, reserve guard Max Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick.

Multiple outlets confirmed the report as the NBA’s media apparatus roused on what had been an otherwise nondescript Saturday night. The three-team deal, in which Los Angeles will acquire Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris, will reportedly also include Utah.

Mavericks general manager Nico Harris cited Davis’ defense, telling ESPN his skills on that end “give us a better chance” to win. Known far more for his offensive prowess — he averaged a league-high 33.9 points per game last season — Dončić has been nursing a calf strain since late December.

BREAKING: The Dallas Mavericks are trading Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Three-team deal that includes Utah.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 2, 2025

Dončić, 25, has blossomed into one of the most productive players in league history since his arrival in 2018. He’s finished no worse than sixth in Kia MVP voting in four of the past seasons while amassing career averages of 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists.

Teaming with Kyrie Irving, Dončić lead Dallas to last year’s Finals for its first appearance in the championship round since the Mavericks won the title in 2011.

Davis, 31, followed a similar path before him, earning a decade’s worth of All-Star appearances as one of the elite players of his generation while leading the Lakers to the 2019-20 NBA championship. He’s on pace for the 10th 20-point, 10-rebound season of his career with current averages of 25.7 points and 11.9 boards.

Davis and LeBron James had been publicly campaigning for the Lakers to acquire a center to pair with the Kentucky product up front. The news they were moving him entirely — for a player who had seemed virtually untouchable, no less — sent shock waves throughout the league as word spread.

That apparently included James himself, who had not been apprised of the trade according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

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