LeBron James shares first thoughts on ‘surreal’ Luka Dončić trade: ‘I thought it was a hoax’

Like the rest of us, LeBron James could hardly believe the Lakers traded away Anthony Davis for Luka Dončić.

LeBron James has been in the NBA for a long, long time. But even he was left stunned by Saturday’s trade.

When the Lakers pulled off a stunning trade for Luka Dončić, LeBron was at dinner with his family in New York. The emotions that transpired over the next hours and days are something he, just like the rest of Lakers fans, is still coming to grips with.

“My emotions were all over the place,” LeBron said after Tuesday’s win over the Clippers. “Obviously, we had just come off the big win, huge win in the Garden...I was out with my family at dinner and got the news and first time I heard it, I thought it was for sure fake. I thought it was a hoax, people messing around or whatever.

“But then AD called me, AD Facetimed me and I talked to him for quite a while. Even when I got off the phone with him, it still didn’t seem real. It pretty much didn’t seem real until I saw Luka today and then I saw a clip of AD at the Dallas shootaround. That’s when it finally hit me like, ‘Oh s---, this is real.”

LeBron and the Lakers returned to the court on Tuesday and continued their winning ways of late, picking up their ninth win in their last 11 contests to finish their Grammy road trip 5-1 with a throttling of the Clippers.

Winning has become a new norm for them on the court, but nothing felt normal off of it.

A shakeup was expected within the roster, especially after AD’s public plea for a center. But nobody could have come close to expecting the seismic deal the Lakers would land.

Not even LeBron, who has been as involved as any player in the league with the roster-building decisions throughout the years, had a warning on this one. Alongside Davis, LeBron had brought the Lakers back to relevance, leading them to a title and making them contenders once again.

But when asked about his relationship with Davis, LeBron’s response focused almost entirely on how much they had grown together away from the court.

“Great. It was great,” LeBron said. “It was everything and more. We literally became brothers over the last five-and-a-half years. What we were able to accomplish on the floor, that goes without saying.

“But, more importantly, what we were able to accomplish off the floor, just us growing together, knowing each other’s family, seeing each other grow, seeing each other’s kids grow, it’s pretty unique. Obviously, I was at his wedding when he got married. It was special, for sure.”

Neither expected the relationship to end like this, in the middle of the night and thousands of miles apart, LeBron in New York dining and Davis back home in Los Angeles receiving treatment for his abdominal strain.

The two shared a lengthy phone call on Saturday. While LeBron wouldn’t dive into exactly what was said, it was clear that it was an emotional conversation.

“He called me in confidentiality and if AD wants to talk about that moment, [he can],” LeBron said. “It was definitely a weird, uncomfortable truth moment for us just knowing that he was going to be gone. That was very difficult, very challenging. I could see how in shock he was, obviously. He probably seen it from my face as well.”

Life in the NBA stops for no one, though, not even when two franchises make the biggest trade in league history. The ripple effects of this deal will long, long be felt by both franchises. But it’s hard to imagine anything ever topping the magnitude of this deal.

“I ain’t ever seen this before,” LeBron said. “I’ve seen it all up until this one. I’ve never been part of a transaction like that. That was different.”

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.