Luka Doncic reveals reaction to learning of trade to LA Lakers

The NBA world was stunned over the weekend as Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal centered around Lakers big man Anthony Davis. Even NBA insider Shams Charania, who broke the trade, wondered if his phone had been hacked.

Luka Doncic was officially introduced as a Lakers player on Tuesday and was asked about his initial reaction to being traded. Like everyone else, he revealed that he was shocked.

“I mean, everybody was surprised, so you can imagine how surprised I was,” Luke Doncic said. “I was almost asleep, so when I got a call, I had to check it was April 1st. I didn’t really believe it at first. It was a big shock.”

Doncic has since said that he thought he would play his entire career with the Dallas Mavericks and that he wanted to stay in Dallas. He called Dallas “home” during Tuesday’s press conference and revealed how hard the past few days have been for him.

“Honestly, it was hard at first. That first day was really hard,” Doncic said. “I felt like this last 48 hours was one month, like two days ago was one month ago. So emotionally it was really hard. But every day, like today was much better. I’m just very happy to be here for this opportunity. It’s the Lakers. It’s one of the best clubs in history. So excited to be here.”

The 25-year-old Doncic has already proven to be one of the best players in the NBA and has earned first-team All-NBA honors each of the past five years.

He led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals this past season and has also been to a Western Conference finals already in his career.

Doncic is now teaming up with LeBron James to try to bring the Lakers a championship. While he is clearly not thrilled about leaving Dallas, he is also looking forward to playing alongside James and for the Los Angeles Lakers.

“It’s just like a dream come true, you know. I always looked up to him,” Doncic said. “There’s so many things I can learn from him. I’m just excited, just to learn everything and I get to play with him. So it’s an amazing feeling.”

The Mavericks front office has criticized Luka Doncic in recent days for not being in the best shape, as well as for his defense. Doncic was asked about the comments and chose not to address them.

“I’m just excited to be here, to start this new journey,” he said. “Obviously at some point I knew this was going to happen. But I would say always take the high road, you know. I had amazing moments in Dallas with all my teammates, coaches, and most importantly the fans, you know. They always supported me and it was an amazing journey.”