Luka Dončić was about to sleep on the night of Feb. 1 when his phone rang. His agent, Bill Duffy, just delivered him the news he was getting traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dončić’s jaw dropped.
Like everyone else in the early minutes of Feb. 2 when ESPN’s Shams Charania dropped the bombshell.
“I mean everybody was surprised so you can imagine how surprised I was,” Dončić told reporters during his introductory press conference. “I was almost asleep. So, when I got a call, I had to check if it was April 1st.”
NBA fans and his fellow reporters thought Charania’s X account was hacked. He thought his agent just delivered an April Fools Day joke on him.
He checked his calendar to see if it was already April 1 rather than Feb. 1.
“I didn’t really believe it at first and it was a bit of a shock,” Dončić continued.
Then shock turned into grief. Like a thief in the night took away something so precious to him.
“It was a hard moment for me,” he said. “[Dallas] was home so it was really hard moments for me, especially the first day.”
It’s in Dallas where he grew up from a 19-year-old basketball prodigy from Europe into a young man considered to be one of the top three basketball players in the world. He was an All-Star and an All-NBA player in the past five seasons. He just led the franchise to the NBA Finals and came three wins away from winning it.
Dončić thought he’d finish his career there and one day have a statue next to Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.
“Honestly it was hard at first,” Dončić told reporters. “That first day was really hard. I felt like this last 48 hours was one month, like two days ago was one month ago.”
Best Destination for Fresh Start
Then when Dončić realized where he was headed next, that’s when grief turned into joy.
“So, emotionally it was really hard, but every day that like today was much better,” Dončić told reporters. “I get to play in the greatest [basketball] club in the world and I’m excited for this new journey. I’m just very happy to be here for this opportunity. It’s the Lakers. It’s one of the best clubs in [basketball] history. So, I’m excited to be here.”
So here comes Dončić from the desert to the beaches of Los Angeles.
“For me, this is a fresh start,” he continued. “I get to play in L.A. The fans are amazing and I got the ocean here so it’s a really big thing for me.”
Learning From Greatness To Be the Greatest
Aside from the glamorous life and chill vibes that Tinseltown has to offer, Dončić also welcomes the opportunity to forge his basketball legacy in such a historic franchise.
And what a better way to start than learning from the best mentor he could ever have in figuring out a way to lead a team to a championship and make his body right.
“It’s just like a dream comes true,” Dončić told reporters. “I always look up to him. There are so many things I can learn from him and I’m just excited just to learn everything and now I get to play with him. So it’s an amazing feeling.”
“I’m really excited to be here. I get to play for the Lakers. Not everybody can say that. Many legends passed here. Many championships [have been won here]. So, that’s my goal.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Luka Dončić’s Hilarious Reaction After Getting Traded From Mavericks to Lakers appeared first on Heavy Sports.