Less than one hour after the college basketball world was stunned by John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks marching into Rupp Arena to beat No. 12 Kentucky, the professional basketball world was rocked even harder by a deal involving one of Cal’s former players.
As first reported by ESPN Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks reached perhaps one of the most significant and shocking trade deals in NBA history.
The deal, which also included the Utah Jazz, sent Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 Lakers first-round NBA draft pick to Dallas in return for five-time NBA All-Star Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris. The Jazz, for their part, received Jalen Hood-Schifino from L.A., a 2025 Los Angeles Clippers second-round NBA draft pick and a 2025 Mavericks second-round pick.

The shocking move stunned many around the sports world as the idea of Dallas trading Doncic, right up until the moment the trade was put together, seemed unfathomable.
Doncic, a 25-year-old Slovenian national, began his professional career outside of the college game, playing for Union Olimpija and then Real Madrid in Spain in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Entering into the 2018 NBA draft, the Ljubljana native was picked third overall by the Atlanta Hawks before being swapped to Dallas for three-time NBA All-Star Trae Young, who had been picked fifth that year out of Oklahoma.
Since joining the Mavericks, Doncic solidified himself as a star in the NBA, becoming a five-time NBA All-Star and winning NBA Rookie of the Year during his first season. With him now leaving the Mavs, the shining moment of his career in the Longhorn State came last season when Doncic led his Mavericks to a shocking NBA Finals appearance, falling to the Boston Celtics in five games.
With many believing Doncic to be the guy the Mavericks intended to build around, adding eight-time NBA All-Star and one-time NBA Champion Kyrie Irving to compete, the Mavericks raised concerns over the lack of offseason conditioning that created a strained relationship within the franchise. This was evident as reports surfaced that it had been the Mavericks that initiated the trade.
The Mavericks also parted with the 33-year-old power forward Kleber, who joined Dallas in 2017 after playing in Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga and going undrafted in 2014, and the 35-year-old Morris, who joined Dallas in 2023 after a lengthy NBA career that started in 2011. Morris was drafted 13th overall in 2011 out of Kansas by the Phoenix Suns.
In return for the deal, Dallas received two players from the Lakers, by far the most notable of which was Davis.
Davis, a 10-time NBA All-Star and NBA Champion, famously went to college at Kentucky, playing for Calipari as a “one-and-done” during the 2011-12 season, leading the Cats to an eighth National Championship, finishing the season as the National Player of the Year and logging 186 blocks, individually finishing more than any other team in the sport.
For his efforts, he was selected with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2012 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets, now the Pelicans. Davis was named to the All-NBA Rookie Team that first season, losing on Rookie of the Year to Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Davis would stay in New Orleans until 2019 when he was traded to Los Angeles to join basketball icon LeBron James, who departed the Cleveland Cavaliers after successfully delivering a championship to his childhood team.
Alongside James in Los Angeles, Davis excelled, turning Los Angeles into a force to be reckoned with and winning the 2020 NBA Finals over the Miami Heat.
The Mavs also received Christie, a 21-year-old shooting guard out of Michigan State that was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft.
With rumors swirling about James’ potential departure from Los Angeles and hopes that Doncic can “be the face of their franchise for the next decade,” the decision to send Davis away was said to be giving him a “win-now” move as he enters the twilight of his career.
Shockingly, neither player was informed of the trade prior to it breaking and even James was reportedly enjoying dinner with his family when news broke, forcing those involved to suffer the same shock that the rest of the basketball world was subjected to when the headlines began flowing.
Another former Cat turned NBA All-Star, Devin Booker, found out about the news while on the bench during the Suns’ loss to the Trail Blazers.
“Somebody told us, ‘Luka,’ by the bench and I said, ‘Luka Garza?’” Booker was quoted as saying.
Around the same time videos began surfacing showing stars from across the league finding out about the news firsthand with shock and awe being the most prevalent emotion. Around the sporting world, this feeling was unanimous, even in the confines of Rupp Arena following a tough loss.
“This deal materialized in the shadows,” Charania said on ESPN. “LeBron James had no idea this was coming. Anthony Davis had no idea this was coming. I’m told Luka Doncic is still stunned by this trade.”
With the trade breaking around midnight ET, news will surely continue to circulate throughout Sunday and into the early parts of the week of Feb. 3, but the deal is agreed upon.
The Mavericks are set to return to action on Sunday, Feb. 2, inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse against the Cavaliers before traveling to the Wells Fargo Center to face the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 4. It is to be seen when Davis will make his debut for Dallas.