The Lakers’ shocking trade for Luka Dončić was the start of one of the wildest weeks in league history, sandwiching either side of the NBA trade deadline.
Even for the Lakers, who seem to constantly be surrounded by Hollywood-esque drama, the week surrounding the 2025 NBA trade deadline was unprecedented.
Starting with a shocking trade of Anthony Davis for Luka Dončić and ending with a nearly-as-shocking rescinding of a trade days after the deadline, the Lakers experienced one of the wildest weeks in league history.
Let’s look back and recap the week that was because, boy, did so much happen.
Saturday, Feb. 1
Lakers beat Knicks in Madison Square Garden
Let this represent the last bit of normalcy — whatever that looks like for the Lakers — of the week. For about two hours, Lakers fans celebrated LeBron turning back the clock again for a vintage performance in MSG for one of the team’s best wins of the season.
Luka Doncic traded for Anthony Davis
Those celebrations from Lakers fans lasted about 90 minutes, at most, before the biggest trade in league history.
With zero warning, Shams Charania of ESPN dropped a tweet that altered the direction of two franchises, and maybe the NBA as a whole, just past midnight Eastern on Saturday night/Sunday morning.
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
No one was prepared for this. Not the players involved. Not LeBron James. Not the Lakers locker room. And certainly not the fans of either team. Everyone was left stunned.
Sunday, Feb. 2
Stunned reactions
The 24 hours that followed was one of the few times over the week everyone was given a chance to process things. And it was needed. It allowed time for LeBron James to share a farewell message for Anthony Davis and Luka to express his appreciation to the fans in Dallas before turning the page and moving onto the Lakers.
First moments in the City of Angels.
Welcome to LA, @luka7doncic! pic.twitter.com/gTRZHUBQAR
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 3, 2025
Nico Harrison, Jason Kidd hold bizarre press conference
After trading away your 25-year-old superstar in the middle of the night in an entirely unexpected deal for a return that, with all due respect to AD and Max Christie, was lower than expected, there are some questions that would need answers, to say the least.
Mavs general manager and head coach Jason Kidd answered none of them. In fact, the press conference the two held ahead of Dallas’ game on the road in Cleveland really just led to more questions than answers.
The Mavs’ spin on why they dealt Luka, though, was well underway. At the crux was reported concern about his conditioning, claiming he had ballooned to 270 pounds while rehabbing his calf strain.
Monday, Feb. 3
How it went down
Monday offered a chance to learn about how things went down. Pieces from Sam Amick, Joe Vardon and Fred Katz at The Athletic and Tim MacMahon of ESPN provided insight into the deal.
What we learned is that Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka essentially gaslit Harrison during the negotiations, then pulled a fast one on Danny Ainge and the Jazz to help get the deal done.
Anthony Davis bids farewell
After nearly two days of silence following the trade, AD posted his own farewell message to Lakers fans and the city of Los Angeles, bringing an end to over five years of success and dominance in purple and gold.
Tuesday, Feb. 4
Luka introduced as a Laker
At last, fans got to hear from Luka himself on Tuesday at his introductory press conference. He shared an excitement to play for the Lakers and called it a “dream come true” to be teammates with LeBron James.
He also pushed back against any notion that he wanted to leave Dallas and, instead, said the comments about his conditioning motivation. Still, as celebratory as the vibes tried to be during the presser, the shocking nature of everything that had played out in recent days lingered.
Lakers beat Clippers in return to court
Oh yeah, the Lakers still had basketball games to play!
In their first game since the trade, the Lakers had one of their best wins of the season — again — by going to the Intuit Dome and dominating the Clippers.
LeBron says he’s committed to the Lakers
One of the common (baseless) narratives after the Luka trade was that LeBron would seek a trade of his own. For numerous reasons, it made little sense and LeBron shot it down postgame, saying he was committed to the franchise.
A good amount of that scrum, though, was focused on the trade itself and the Lakers parting with AD, who LeBron called a brother.
Wednesday, Feb. 5
Lakers trade for Mark Williams
After Pelinka spoke at the introductory press conference about not expecting another splash move, the Lakers did just that late on Wednesday, landing their young center of the future.
It was a deal that, again, came entirely out of nowhere. It wasn’t cheap, though, as the team dealt away Dalton Knecht, a 2031 first round pick and a 2030 pick swap. But considering Luka had reportedly asked for a lob-catching center, it was a deal that made sense and filled needs.
Thursday, Feb. 6
Luka’s debut delayed
Initial reports suggested that Luka could make his debut on Saturday against the Pacers, but new reports came out that his first game in purple and gold would likely not be until Monday against the Jazz.
Trade deadline comes and goes
Without much left to trade and their work done, the trade deadline came and went without the Lakers making any more moves before the final buzzer. Surely, that meant the fireworks were done, right?
Lakers win again behind dominant LeBron
Even without Luka, the Lakers were flying high on the court. In their first home game since the trade, LeBron scored 42 points to continue a remarkable week of individual performances and the Lakers downed the Warriors for a third time this season.
LEBRON’S 3RD STRAIGHT 3… THIS ONE FROM THE LOGO pic.twitter.com/Rh1HrdCOH0
— NBA (@NBA) February 7, 2025
Saturday, Feb. 8
After a completely quiet Friday allowed fans to catch their breath, Saturday had a bit more in store to wrap up the week.
Austin Reaves explodes for career high against Pacers
Not only was Luka out on Saturday, but LeBron joined him. With Williams also still not suiting up, the Lakers were supremely shorthanded.
However, led by Reaves’ first 40-point game of his career, the Lakers continued winning by knocking off the Pacers at home.
Mark Williams trade rescinded
Wouldn’t you know it, the week had one more Mike Breen “Bang!” left in it. Over 48 hours after the deadline passed, the Lakers announced the trade with the Hornets had been rescinded. According to reports, Williams failed his physical and, with the deadline having passed, amending the deal was impossible.
As a result, the trade had to be canceled, sending Williams back to Charlotte and Knecht, Cam Reddish and the Lakers’ draft assets back to Los Angeles.
It’s hard to imagine any team having a week in the middle of their season like this again. Three wins, two shocking trades and one canceled deal all wrapped around a new superstar joining the franchise.
Only in LA and only the Lakers.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.