Subscribe
Follow Us
At 9:12 PM PST, Feb. 1, Shams Charania of ESPN fired off a tweet that sent shockwaves throughout the NBA. Luka Doncic was heading to the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Hilariously, four minutes later, Charania sent another tweet, declaring that the trade was indeed “real,” which only made more people question whether he'd been hacked.
One month later, and while Doncic and the Lakers have climbed all the way to the second seed in the Western Conference standings, the NBA still finds itself reeling from the earthquake that rolled through the entire league that fateful February night.
An agent texted early that morning:
“What the f***? What is Nico (Harrison) doing?”
An Eastern Conference scout didn't hold back either:
“I'm just so confused,” he said. “I don't care if Luka eats a Whataburger during halftime. He just got them to the finals last year! A couple years ago they were in the WCF… He just averaged almost 35 a night. And now you're calling him fat on his way out? What happens if this pisses him off and he loses weight? S*** I'm glad he went west.”
One league executive looked back on that night:
“I was pissed,” he said in a text message Friday night, after the Lakers had just beaten the Los Angeles Clippers. “AD is obviously really good and Dallas should be ok I guess. But you just made the Lakers a championship team when they had no path to that even while they had LeBron (James), let alone after he retires. Now, they can beat anyone this year AND you left them with enough to get even better this summer.”
When the league converged on The Bay Area for All-Star Weekend a couple weeks after the trade, it was all anyone wanted to talk about. Doncic spent that weekend in Cabo because of injuries this season, but the notion of him and James playing together hung over the festivities like a specter.
“I can't believe anyone thinks Luka and Bron aren't going to be incredible together,” a league source said. “If you are seriously nervous about how they'll fit, you shouldn't be allowed to talk ball for at least a month. We've never seen that level of creativity and production on the court at the same time between two guys and honestly may never see it again. But yeah sure, ‘one ball' or whatever. Lol.”
From the Lakers perspective, the sentiment internally is night-and-day now with Doncic on the roster.
“We obviously can't get ahead of ourselves,” a team source said over the weekend. “There's a ton of work to do this season and moving forward. But every so often, I'll find myself just staring at those two in practice or during film because it's so insane they're teammates. Every time they step on the court together, it feels like an All-Star Game.”
Lakers thriving with Luka Doncic in fold
Last weekend was a perfect example of the new energy surrounding the Lakers.
On Friday night, they beat the Clippers in a close game that unfortunately cost the Lakers Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves. When news dropped that Hachimura and Reaves were unlikely to play Sunday, many people, fans and league personnel alike, wondered whether the Lakers would fold up shop and rest Doncic and James. Then, not only did they play, but they again beat the Clippers, who so desperately wanted to win and played Kawhi Leonard almost 40 minutes.
Leonard hadn't played that many minutes since November 2023, also against the Lakers in a losing effort.
Since Doncic's arrival, the Lakers have been able to win in any number of ways, but generally speaking, if the game is close, he, Reaves and James have been able to out-execute their opponents late.
“It's a math problem,” a former coach said. “Almost no one has the personnel to match up with Bron, Luka and Reaves all at the same time. Then, when Rui and (Dorian Finney-Smith) or even (Jaxson) Hayes are out there, you have to account for them too. You have to blitz Luka or LeBron, but then the other guy gets to play four-on-three.
“If you switch, they'll hunt the matchup you least want to see. If you shut off one side of the court, they can skip over the top and attack you on the weak side. The defense basically has to hope they miss, and that's right now, while they figure out how to play together. Once they start clicking, I have no idea what teams are going to do defensively down the stretch after 45 minutes of guarding Luka and LeBron.”
The Lakers have gone 10-2 since the trade and, incredibly, have fared much better on the defensive side of the ball since trading away Davis, who used to operate as the league's best catch-all for some pretty poor defensive rosters during his time in L.A. Now, JJ Redick has leaned completely into an identity based on length, athleticism and versatility to give up only 106.9 points per 100 possessions, best in the NBA over that time.
Compared to their potential, the Lakers offense has been “only” ok over the last dozen games. Their 115.3 offensive rating ranks 11th in the league, but that only makes them more terrifying. Eventually, they're going to get a lot better on that end. If they figure that out and only manage minor slippage defensively, they will formally join the upper tier of the league's championship contenders.
“It's just so annoying,” that league executive said, somewhat jokingly. “Obviously, it's great for you, the Lakers and their fans. Watching Luka and LeBron is going to be fun as hell. But I feel terrible for Mavs fans and I can't help but feel for the rest of the league. They have to deal with that combination for who knows how much longer just because Nico lost his mind.”
