Luka Doncic broke his phone after Mavericks traded him to Lakers

Like many of us, Doncic was pretty upset after discovering he got traded.

May 24, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves during game two of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks have faced consistent backlash since trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in early February. Fans immediately revolted, "Fire Nico" chants rained down in every part of Dallas, and a lot of fans stopped supporting the team entirely. Some fans around the NBA think Mavericks fans have overreacted, but if only they knew how Doncic himself reacted to the trade.

Speculation ran wild about Doncic's reaction, ranging from crying to being stunned and everything in between. But in anticipation of his first playoff run with the Los Angeles Lakers, Doncic sat down with ESPN's Malika Andrews to speak on his reaction.

READ MORE: Mavericks’ $336 million star sent to Bulls in blockbuster trade idea

Apr 3, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts to a call during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Lara Beth Seager, Luka Doncic's manager, walked into the interview with a broken iPhone, saying, "Thought I would show you a souvenir from that night." So, Andrew asks, "You hang up the phone the night you were traded, and you threw it?"

"Yes," Doncic responded. "Do you have that phone?" Andrews asked. Doncic holds the clearly cracked and broken iPhone up and says he still uses it. "Yeah, it still works," as he cracks a smile.

Luka Doncic tells @malika_andrews about throwing his phone and breaking it when he found out he got traded to the Lakers 😳

"My heart was broken honestly." 💔 pic.twitter.com/rfsIGlOaBC

— ESPN (@espn) April 18, 2025

Doncic then went over the entire night. "I was actually in the bed, my TV wasn't working so I was on the iPad watching a movie about to go to sleep. First thing I probably said like three times was, 'Is this April 1st?'... [I was feeling] Sadness, mostly. I was still in shock, crazy shock. I felt like my heart was broken, honestly."

Doncic has made it known he had no intention of ever leaving the Mavericks and wanted to be in Dallas his entire career. It was written all over his face on his return to the American Airlines Center as the team played a touching tribute video before the game and he's openly crying. He then proceeded to light the Mavericks up for 45 points in a Lakers win.

Luka had just closed on a $15 million house, loved the city of Dallas, and was looking forward to signing the supermax extension, something Nico Harrison for some reason disagrees with. Instead, he'll likely haunt the Mavs for the rest of his career.

READ MORE: Projected outcome for Mavericks possible final game against Memphis Grizzlies

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