The Luka Dončić–Anthony Davis trade was a National Basketball Association (NBA) trade made on the night of February 1–2, 2025, which saw Luka Dončić traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis in a three-team deal facilitated by the Utah Jazz. It was the first time in NBA history that two reigning All-NBA Team players were traded for each other midseason. It is considered one of the most unexpected and lopsided trades in NBA history, even though the Mavericks still received an All-NBA player, as Dončić was perceived as one of the best players in his generation and was almost six years younger than Davis.Multiple sources: Previously considered directionless, the Lakers built a contending team around Dončić. Conversely, the Mavericks' title window was effectively closed by the trade, injury to Kyrie Irving, and recurring injury problems with Davis. The Mavericks subsequently transitioned to rebuild around first overall draft pick Cooper Flagg.
At the time of the trade, Dončić, who led the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals and had made five consecutive All-NBA First Teams and All-Star appearances (every year other than his rookie season), had established himself as the cornerstone of the franchise. The popular perception was that the Mavericks would never trade him, with Dončić himself stating that he wanted to spend his entire career in Dallas. The Mavericks stated that they traded Dončić to improve the team's defense, and the Mavericks also had concerns about his behavior, work ethic and conditioning, as he reportedly weighed as much as . Their belief that Dončić would not be able to improve his fitness was disproven when Dončić underwent a physical transformation after the Lakers' playoff exit, appearing in a Men's Health Magazine article. However, Davis had equal, if not worse, health concerns throughout his career and was significantly injured whilst in Dallas, calling into question the Mavericks' motivations and drawing further criticism of the trade.
Journalists have called the transaction one of the most unexpected trades in NBA and American sports history, with many media members, fans and NBA players criticizing it and expressing shock as Dončić had not even requested a trade and was an All-NBA player in his prime. The overwhelming consensus was that the Lakers won the trade. Mavericks fans reacted negatively to the trade and protested it after the announcement, with many calling for the firing of general manager Nico Harrison. The trade received revived scrutiny when the Mavericks obtained the first overall pick from the NBA draft lottery (used to select Flagg) in the 2025 NBA draft, despite having just a 1.8% chance of obtaining the #1 pick, resulting in accusations that the lottery result was rigged and meant as compensation for the lopsided trade.
Harrison was fired by the Mavericks on November 11, 2025, which many commentators attributed to the negative backlash to the trade and the team's sluggish start to the 2025–26 season. The Mavericks traded Davis to the Washington Wizards during the same season in exchange for 4 role players and minimal draft capital. Davis played in 29 regular-season games, in which Dallas had a record of 16–13. He missed 54 of a possible 83 regular-season games, also missing the playoffs. Irving and Davis played 25 minutes together for the Mavericks.
Background
Luka Dončić
At the age of 19, Luka Dončić was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks 3rd overall in the 2018 NBA draft as the most hyped European prospect in NBA history. In a draft-night trade, he was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks for the 5th overall pick (Trae Young) and a protected 2019 first-round pick (later used to draft Cam Reddish 10th overall). When he joined the NBA, he was one of the most coveted prospects in basketball due to his accomplishments at Real Madrid, where he was the 2017–18 EuroLeague MVP and led his team to the EuroLeague title. Dončić's arrival was seen as the beginning of a new era for the Mavericks, as the illustrious career of team legend Dirk Nowitzki was coming to a close. Nowitzki played one season with Dončić before retiring in 2019.
Dončić quickly became the face of the franchise, winning the 2018–19 NBA Rookie of the Year award. In 2019–20, he was selected to his first All-Star team and All-NBA First Team, and led the Mavericks to the 2020 NBA playoffs. In 2022, the team reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time since their 2011 championship run. In 2024, the team reached the NBA Finals, losing in five games to the Boston Celtics. Despite the loss, Dončić became just the second player in NBA history to lead the playoffs in total points, rebounds, and assists.
During Dončić's six-and-a-half seasons with Dallas, he made the All-NBA First Team five times and the NBA All-Star Team five times. Dončić became the first player in NBA history to make five All-NBA First Teams through age 24. Along with Larry Bird, George Gervin, and Tim Duncan, he is one of only four players to earn five All-NBA First Team selections in their first six seasons since the ABA–NBA merger. He is the Mavericks' franchise leader in career triple-doubles, and holds the record for most points (2,370) in a Mavericks season and highest scoring game (73 points). In 2022, Dončić signed a five-year, $215 million maximum contract with the Mavericks, including a player option for 2026–27.
Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans first overall at the 2012 NBA draft after winning the 2012 NCAA Division I championship with the Kentucky Wildcats. Davis played seven seasons with the Pelicans, during which he made the All-NBA First Team three times. During the 2018–19 season, Davis announced he would decline to extend his contract with the Pelicans and requested a trade, and the Pelicans subsequently traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2019 offseason (with the Pelicans receiving Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round draft picks).
The Lakers won the 2020 NBA Finals in Davis' first year with the team, where he played an integral role as the main co-star alongside LeBron James, who shifted into a supplementary role alongside Dončić. The Lakers had not achieved much playoff success since their 2020 title other than making the Conference Finals in the 2022–23 season. Davis also helped the Lakers win the inaugural NBA Cup during the 2023–24 season. After joining the Lakers, Davis made the All-NBA First Team in 2020, the All-NBA Second Team in 2024, and the All-Defensive First Team in 2020 and 2024. He was an NBA All-Star in 2020, 2021, 2024, and 2025. However, he was plagued by injuries during the 2020–21, 2021–22, and 2022–23 seasons. In 2023, he signed a three-year, $186 million maximum contract extension that tied him to the Lakers through 2028, which was the largest extension in NBA history at the time by annual dollar value.
Timeline and rationale
Trading Dončić
Mavericks then-general manager Nico Harrison was a longtime admirer of Anthony Davis. He said that "defense wins championships", that Davis was "one of the best two-way players in the league" and that "I believe that getting an All-Defensive and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We're built to win now and in the future". In 2024–25, Davis had been putting together one of his best seasons for the Lakers, statistically trending even better than his 2019–20 campaign when the Lakers won the title. He was also healthy that season, despite playing out of his preferred position at center with the Lakers, and he was expected to increase his production once he was playing at power forward with the Mavericks. Harrison, who used to work for Anthony Davis's sponsor Nike and has known Davis since the latter was in high school, added that Davis exemplified "the culture that we want to create." Harrison was criticised for this and other interviews.
In addition, it was reported that Harrison and other Mavericks staffers were unhappy about Dončić's conditioning and diet and disagreed with Dončić about his strength and training regimen, who also used his own team of doctors instead of the Mavericks' physicians. The Lakers themselves posted a job opening for a new head strength and conditioning coach shortly after Dončić arrived. Harrison, "a notorious nutrition devotee", worried that Dončić's poor conditioning would lead to future injuries. This was in spite of the Mavericks' roster already being crippled by injuries and Davis' well-documented injury history. One Mavericks executive stated "Whenever you trade a truly great player, it's going to hurt. We love AD, and we feel like we're in a good position to have a great team moving forward. With better health this year, we'll be near the top of the conference going into the playoffs. That's the goal".
For example, at the start of the 2024–25 season, Dončić gained over a dozen pounds when rehabbing from a calf strain and reinjured his calf after returning, which Harrison attributed to Dončić's poor conditioning. Harrison terminated several Mavericks sports performance professionals, including performance director Casey Smith, who had been with the team for 21 years and was out of the state tending to his gravely ill mother at the time. Smith was reportedly let go from the Mavericks in part for being "too negative", and he was subsequently hired by the New York Knicks. According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, some employees thought Harrison fired them because he "saw them as 'enablers' of [Dončić]", while another thought Harrison feared Smith's influence within the organization. One source told MacMahon that team legend Dirk Nowitzki was so alarmed at Smith's termination that he reduced his own involvement with Mavericks basketball operations. Harrison responded that the Mavericks made the NBA Finals after he fired Smith, specifically stating that "You bringing up Casey [Smith] is like almost, it's kind of a joke. "Like last year, Casey wasn't around, and we made it to the Finals. No one brought up Casey last year. So, to bring him up this year doesn't really make sense. He's been away for two years. So it's—I'm not even going to comment on that.".