Mavericks-Lakers blockbuster trade nearly broke the internet — and even had players thinking ESPN insider was hacked

You know a trade is shocking when it completely stuns the internet — including players and reporters.

Numerous NBA players and insiders thought ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania was hacked when he was the first to report early Sunday morning that the Mavericks sent Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.

The Jazz were the third team in the blockbuster deal and acquired Jalen Hood-Schifino and two 2025 second-round draft picks (Clippers and Mavericks).

There were no whispers in recent days that a trade of this magnitude was about to go down, and many users on X couldn’t believe it when Charania posted the news.

NBA reporter Chris Hine of The Minnesota Star Tribune originally had a funny response when he first heard about the trade.

“You’ve all been hacked,” he wrote on X. “That’s what I’m telling myself and going to bed.”

Ironically, Davis recently made a public pitch to the Lakers to get more pieces to make a title run, maybe not realizing Los Angeles was looking to deal him.

And Hine had a funny me for that, posting a meme from “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who attended WWE’s Royal Rumble on Saturday night in Indianapolis, couldn’t quite believe it either.

“Shams got hacked?” Haliburton asked X soon after Charania posted the stunning news.

76ers star Joel Embiid was also flabergasted.

“WOWWWWW NO F WAY,” wrote Embiid, who rarely posts NBA news or stories on his X feed.

The utter surprise circulating the internet caused Charania to post again that the news was “real.”

Stephen A. Smith, who is never known not to have an opinion, posted an old video of himself and Michael Wilbon both looking shocked, seemingly in response to the mega-deal.

The news was even more surprising because, in the era of social media, there were no leaks or buzz surrounding a potential deal in the past few days, which is often the case in big-name trades in all sports.

But this story broke the mold — and almost the internet.