With the NBA campaign fully underway, the blockbuster trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks , involving Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis . Although the trade may have occurred last season, it will be discussed for years to come, especially as the dust continues to settle.
One prominent analyst who constantly harps on the trade is Nick Wright , who believes that Nico Harrison 's decision to trade Doncic has looked incredibly bad, as the latter has started the season on a historic note.
"There was a very brief and loud "Oh, was Nico that crazy after all, once they got Cooper Flagg ?" If Nico Harrison today called up Pelinka and said, 'Hey, I'd give you Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg for Luka,' Rob Pelinka would say no. That is where it is right now," Wright said .
"Luka has been absolutely great in the games he's played, giving you a nice and tidy 40-11-9 on 50% shooting up to this moment of the season. He's been the best or the second-best player of the sport," added Wright.
In the five games that Luka has suited up thus far, his lowest scoring output is 29 points in a victory against the Miami Heat . For context, 29 is above his career average of 28.7 points per game. He's the first player in NBA history to average 40 points, five rebounds and five assists to start the season. To say that the Slovenian native is off to a superb start is an understatement.
What's even more encouraging for Doncic is that he's in the right position to win his first championship as well. The Lakers are off to an impressive start, despite Doncic missing four games and LeBron James not suiting up just yet, which proves that they have a competent roster around their superstar duo.
" If you look at their next seven games because LeBron's going to miss the next seven, six of seven are on the road then they have a long home stand, this has 4-3 at worst, 5-2 written all over it and so the Lakers should find themselves at 11-5 or 12-4 when LeBron comes back," said Wright. "For a team that's considered fringe team contender, I think that's way ahead of schedule from where they were."
With the way Doncic is playing on top of Austin Reaves ' rise to superstardom, the Lakers are looking like title contenders to begin the season. It's been a massive development to see Deandre Ayton successfully fill the void in the center position, which the team needed since trading Davis .
They have players like Jake LaRavia , Marcus Smart , Rui Hachimura , Jared Vanderbilt, and others who have all looked healthy and have been major contributors to their success thus far. If the Lakers continue to win at this pace, led by Doncic's MVP-caliber play, they will become what the Mavericks were supposed to be, had Harrison not made the trade.
Instead, the Mavericks continue to struggle in basketball purgatory, now at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, as they develop their bright young rookie, Cooper Flagg and await the return of their key players from injury.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 7, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
