On February 1, 2025, former Mavericks GM Nico Harrison changed the lives of everyone associated with the Dallas Mavericks when he traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in the most shocking trade in recent
sports history.
The move sparked immediate outrage and shock from the entire league and resulted in Harrison’s firing nine months later — a swift, but necessary resolution to one of the most shocking betrayals to a fanbase from a sports executive in league history.
Now, nearly a year later, the Lakers will be coming to Dallas for the second time since the trade commenced. Los Angeles’ first trip back — a 112-97 April 9 Lakers win where Dončić dominated the Mavericks to cheers from the American Airlines Center crowd — felt like something out of a sports movie. Home fans rooting for an opposing player throughout the game is exceptionally rare, especially in modern sports, yet it happened in April and I expect it to happen again Saturday.
It’s been a year unlike any other in sports fandom. Here’s a look back at a 12-month span that forever altered the Dallas Mavericks, from the fans to the players to the front office.
February 1, 2025, 11:12 CST: The Tweet
Late in the evening of February 1, ESPN’s Shams Charania shocked the world when he announced the Dallas Mavericks were trading Dončić, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick in a three-team deal that included the Utah Jazz.
Fans across all teams immediately thought the tweet was a farce. “Has Shams been hacked?” started trending on social media and Charania told the Old Man and the Three podcast that his phone was blowing up with questions about if he’d been hacked.
“I answered five people on phone calls, texts I couldn’t, it was literally up to 300 messages,” he recalled.
But the trade was real, stunning the world. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported that night that Harrison “believed defense wins championships” and that the Mavericks had “major concerns” about moving forward with Dončić due to his “constant conditioning issues.”
February 8, 2025: Davis makes debut after fans protest trade
A week later, the Mavericks hosted the Houston Rockets in Anthony Davis’ debut as a Maverick, but the headlines that day weren’t focused on the game; it was on the scene outside the arena.
Thousands of fans flooded Victory Plaza outside the arena to protest the historic trade. People held signs, chanted
“Fire Nico” and voiced their displeasure at the move. Inside the arena, Davis and the Mavericks defeated the Rockets, but the Mavericks’ new star exited the game in the third quarter with an injury.
For many, the trade was a turning point, ticket sales declined 40% that season after the trade. In November, the team’s 24-season streak of sellout games was snapped.
February 25, 2025: Dončić faces Mavericks for first time
Dallas traveled to Los Angeles to play the Lakers three weeks later with Harrison in attendance. The Lakers defeated the Mavericks, 107-99, with Dončić securing a triple double in the win. Davis missed the game with an injury.
Inside Crypto.com arena,“ Thank you, Nico!” chants erupted from the Lakers faithful. Harrison was in attendance for the game, and it was likely the last public sporting event where he’d ever receive a positive reception.
April 9, 2025: Dončić returns to Dallas
Two months after the trade, Dončić returned to American Airlines Center in one of the most surreal games I’ve ever witnessed as a fan. Purple and gold jerseys flooded AAC — which wasn’t uncommon for a Lakers road game, Los Angeles has one of the fiercest fanbases in the NBA — but most of the jerseys had one name: Dončić.
Purple and gold meshed with navy blue and white with the same name donned across the back. The Mavericks played a video tribute before the game for Dončić, who teared up on the sidelines as fans applauded the then-25 year old’s tenure in Dallas that included a 2022 Western Conference Finals run and a 2024 NBA Finals run.
Then, the game started, and if you thought Dončić would start slow due to the emotionof the game, he quickly showed the fans and the world just how big a mistake the Mavericks made.
He lit up the Mavericks, scoring 45 points on 16-28 shooting, including 7-10 from three-point range. Dallas fans erupted with every made basket, almost as if to rebel against their own team. Dončić added eight rebounds, six assists and four steals for good measure, and the Lakers clinched a playoff spot while Dallas dropped yet another game, a common theme for the post-Dončić era.
“It was little bit of both happy and angry, but it’s nice to see some familiar faces here,” Dončić said after the game. “…I really appreciate the fans.”
May 12, 2025: Mavericks win draft lottery
The Dallas Mavericks defied all odds and won the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, despite having just a 1.8% chance to secure the No. 1 pick. It was the first time in franchise history Dallas had moved up in the draft lottery and it put them in position to draft Cooper Flagg.
In June, Dallas did just that, drafting Flagg with the No. 1 pick and beginning a new era of Mavericks basketball. The front office made it clear they were trying to move on and turn over a new leaf. The fans were not yet ready to do so.
November 10, 2025: Tensions boil over
Harrison had tried for nine months to outlast the fan outrage, hoping a flashy new rookie and visions of him, Davis, and Kyrie Irving would soothe fan’s rage.
It did not.
On November 10, tensions boiled over when the Mavericks faced off against the Milwaukee Bucks. Dallas blew a 13-point 4th-quarter lead, but had a chance to tie the game late after P.J. Washington, who had pleaded with fans to stop their chants during the game, stepped to the line to shoot three free throws with Dallas down 3.
“Fire Nico! Fire Nico! Fire Nico!”
Time seemed to stand still in that moment. With Davis watching from the sidelines with yet another injury, the fans staged their final stage of revolt. They no longer cared if their team won or lost. They only cared about Harrison being gone. Nothing else mattered.
That was when team governor Patrick Dumont knew enough was enough.
November 11, 2025: Harrison fired
Harrison was fired the next morning and the Mavericks named two co-GM’s, Matt Ricardi and Michael Finley, to lead the front office while they began a search for a new permanent general manager.
After four years as GM, a run that saw Dallas reach the WCF and NBA Finals, Harrison was out just nine months after the trade. Some things are too big to escape, and Harrison learned that the hard way.
January 24, 2026: Dončić returns again
A year ago, Dallas was a title contender looking to get back to the NBA Finals while the Lakers were facing questions about the direction of their franchise with two aging stars and a lack of appealing draft capital.
Now, everything has flipped.
Los Angeles, fifth in the West, now looks to establish themselves as the contender while Dallas starts a years-long rebuild. Flagg’s quick ascension will provide some comfort for Mavericks fans and gives a glimpse into what the future can hold, but the Mavericks are years away from being in the Finals, while Dončić looks to lead his second franchise to the championship series, hopefully this time with a different ending.
