LeBron James, Luka Doncic and the one player who could swing the playoffs for the Lakers.
It was a night of pure joy for Austin Reaves as he walked off the court at Madison Square Garden and into the bustling New York City night. The date was just after midnight on February 2nd. The Los Angeles Lakers had just achieved a significant victory on the road, defeating the New York Knicks, who were on a strong five-game winning streak.
The Lakers' triumph was largely due to the stellar performances of Reaves, who scored 27 points, and LeBron James, who added 33 points, combining for a total of 60 points. This impressive feat was made even more remarkable by the fact that the Lakers were playing without their key player, Anthony Davis, who had left the road trip early to receive treatment for an abdominal strain.
Reflecting on the game, Reaves shared his conversation with LeBron in the locker room with ESPN. "Me and Bron were talking in the locker room after the game," Reaves said. "It was like, if we play like that and add AD to that, we could be dangerous." Their confidence was high, envisioning an even stronger team with Davis back in the lineup.
As the Lakers' team bus made its way through the busy traffic of midtown Manhattan, Reaves decided to check his phone and browse through Instagram. While scrolling, he came across a post that cited a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski (note: the original text incorrectly mentioned Shams Charania). The report claimed that the Lakers had just traded Anthony Davis and Max Christie, who had just contributed a solid 15 points against the Knicks, to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for the Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic.
Reaves' initial reaction was one of disbelief. "First thing, I was like, 'Oh this is [false]," Reaves said. "'He got hacked.'" The news seemed so outlandish that he immediately suspected the source had been compromised.
Almost instantly, Reaves' phone began to vibrate with a flurry of incoming text messages. "The group message started going crazy," he recalled. Anthony Davis himself even texted the team group chat, saying, "They traded me." Reaves, however, was still skeptical. "And I was like, 'OK, AD is bulls----ing with us.' He's a kid at heart, had his fun. He literally has a prank TV show. I thought it was one of those." Davis is known for his playful nature, and Reaves initially believed it was just another one of his jokes.
Just as Reaves was starting to question the authenticity of the report, he received a direct message from Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy (note: the original text incorrectly mentioned Beau Levesque). The message simply read, "It's true." This short message sent a wave of shock and confusion through Reaves. The playful mood from the victory quickly evaporated, replaced by the unsettling reality of the reported trade. The news, initially dismissed as a hoax, now seemed to be true, leaving Reaves and likely the rest of the team in a state of surprise and uncertainty about the future.
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