Shams Charania: 'I Thought My Phone Was Hacked' When I Got Luka-AD Trade Details

Shams Charania of ESPN wasn't sure what to believe when he first received word the Dallas Mavericks were trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.

Charania joked Monday on Get Up that "I thought my phone was hacked," such was his surprise at seeing the details of the transaction:

Both the timing of the trade and its sheer enormity left a lot of fans to wonder whether what they were reading was actually true. Charania's first post about the deal hit social media at 12:12 a.m. ET on Sunday morning. He followed up four minutes later to say, "Yes, this is real."

It's not a stretch to say this was the most shocking transaction in NBA history, at least in recent memory.

Stars with Dončić's résumé simply don't get traded when they're only 25 and in their prime. He's a five-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA honoree, the league's leading scorer from 2023-24, and on a Hall of Fame-type trajectory.

Davis was 26 and had a similar reputation when the New Orleans Pelicans sent him to the Lakers, but that followed a long-drawn-out saga. He had requested a trade months earlier and made it clear he wouldn't sign an extension.

With Dončić, there was no inkling that he had a desire to leave Dallas or that the Mavs were entertaining trade offers.

General manager Nico Harrison played his cards close to the chest and caught everyone, including the most dialed-in league insiders, flat-footed.