When the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025, the move sent the NBA world into a tailspin. Dončić had spent seven seasons in Dallas and was widely viewed as the franchise cornerstone.
For fans, the deal felt seismic. And Dončić agreed, as he explained on the AMP Sports’ original series, Cousins, hosted by Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady.
“For me, it was terrible,” he said. “Honestly, I thought I was going to be there my whole life. Obviously things change but it was hard. [Especially] the first month, with the routine and everything. It’s a lot to get into but one year after I feel like I’m in a great place. I live by the beach, I ride my bicycle. It’s good!”
That was a vastly different experience from his trade from the Hawks to Dallas.
“I kinda knew a little bit, but it wasn’t a big deal for me,” Dončić said. “I didn’t know much about trades and that stuff and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to Dallas…’ I didn’t really know the cities that much. I knew Miami, LA because I’ve been to LA.”
The guard explained that his upbringing in European basketball shaped how he processed the moment. After leaving Slovenia at 13 to join Real Madrid, Dončić grew accustomed to rapid change and high expectations. “I was always playing with older guys,” he said. “That’s how I learned. You just adjust.”
The trade sent Dončić, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to Los Angeles in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. While the Mavericks pivoted toward a rebuild, the Lakers immediately positioned Dončić as the centerpiece of their future. As of February 2026, he leads the league in scoring and anchors the offense alongside LeBron James.
Playing next to LeBron has helped ease the transition. Dončić recalled a moment from his first game as a Laker when nerves crept in. “I was nervous,” he said. “New team, new arena, everything was new.”
According to Dončić, James kept the message simple: “He just told me, ‘Be you. Don’t change who you are.’ That helped a lot.”
Dončić also brushed off outside noise surrounding the trade and the pressure that comes with playing in Los Angeles. “It’s just noise,” he said. “Since Real Madrid, I learned why bother? You don’t know these people. You just play.”
A year into the move, Dončić sounds settled. The city is different, the jersey is different, but the approach remains the same. As he put it plainly, “Basketball is basketball. You just go out there and hoop.”