Super Bowl Sunday? Try NBA Trade Deadline Thursday.
One sport is stealing the spotlight ahead of Sunday’s championship showdown between Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs and Jalen Hurts’ Philadelphia Eagles — and it’s not football.
Instead, the NBA hijacked the headlines with a flurry of landscape-altering, internet-breaking trades that sent shockwaves through the league and left fans scrambling to process the madness.
No move was bigger than the stunning breakup between Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks, as the Mavs abruptly shipped their franchise superstar to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis and Max Christie.
The NBA world had to pick its jaw off the floor. The Luka Magic era in L.A. is officially here — and it was just the highlight of a trade frenzy that made Super Bowl Week feel like a side story.
Let’s break down every major move that pushed football to the back burner, with the NBA dominating the week leading up to America’s biggest sporting event.
WEMBY GETS REAL HELP
The San Antonio Spurs just set a new standard for how franchises should build around generational talents.
After realizing Victor Wembanyama has GOAT potential, the Spurs didn’t wait around — they went out and got him a co-star.
In a massive three-team deal, the Spurs stole De’Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings, with the Bulls sending Zach LaVine to the Kings, and a mix of players and picks headed to Chicago in the trade.
Fox is exactly what Wemby needed.
The blazing-fast playmaker is a proven clutch scorer and immediately made his presence felt with a 24-point, 13-assist, three-steal performance in his Spurs debut, leading San Antonio to a one-point win over the Atlanta Hawks.
The kicker? San Antonio didn’t even have to give up any of its young core.
Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle, Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, and Julian Champagnie all stayed put, meaning the Spurs landed an All-Star floor general while keeping powder in the keg for future deals to improve the roster around Wembanyama.
San Antonio sits 12th in the West but is just 2.5 games out of the 8-seed. With Fox running the show, don’t be shocked if Wemby and the Spurs make a second-half push.
WARRIORS LAND A WINNER — BUT CAN THEY HANDLE HIM?
Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green on the same team? What could possibly go wrong?
Golden State shook things up by acquiring Butler from the Miami Heat, sending Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, P.J. Tucker, and a first-round pick to South Beach.
Butler’s relentless mentality and proven playoff pedigree give the Warriors a much-needed boost, but the fit is a question mark. The Warriors needed more shooting, and Butler — who defenses are happy to leave open from three — isn’t exactly a sniper.
Still, this is a guy who dragged Miami to two Finals appearances. Plus his basketball IQ and clutch capabilities speak for themselves.
If he and Draymond can co-exist without needing a referee to break them up, the Warriors might have just found the missing piece for one last title push.
Plus they didn’t give up Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski or any of their other valuable young players in the deal.
BUCKS SWAP A CHAMPION FOR… KUZMA?
The Khris Middleton era in Milwaukee is over.
The Bucks, desperate for something after an underwhelming season with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, sent Middleton to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kyle Kuzma.
It’s a roll of the dice. Kuzma is younger and more athletic, but does he make Milwaukee better? He won a ring with the Lakers in 2020, but he’s been toiling away in irrelevance in Washington since.
Still, Middleton had lost a step, and Kuzma at least injects some versatility into Milwaukee’s lineup.
Will it be enough? That remains to be seen, but Kuzma will assuredly benefit from playing meaningful basketball once again.
RAPTORS PULL OFF ANOTHER HEIST
Another trade deadline, another masterclass by the Raptors.
Toronto robbed the Pelicans, landing All-Star forward Brandon Ingram for Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, a first-round pick, and a second-rounder.
Ingram, averaging 22.2 points per game, gives the Raptors a legitimate offensive weapon alongside Scottie Barnes, R.J. Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley.
The risk? He’s a free agent this summer, and Toronto’s track record of retaining stars isn’t great (see: Kawhi Leonard). But if they can lock him in long-term, the Raptors just added another major piece to their rebuild with one of the league’s premier isolation scorers and playmakers relocating up north.
THE LUKA SHOCKWAVE
No one saw this coming.
Dončić is a Laker.
The Mavericks, apparently fed up with their 25-year-old franchise star, moved on fast, shipping him to L.A. in a stunning deal for Davis.
The move rocked the NBA and instantly shifted the balance of power. Now, the Lakers have their next true superstar, and Dallas has a dominant big man to pair with Kyrie Irving.
It’s the kind of trade that only happens in the NBA, where the biggest stars can be on the move in an instant.
Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards is already plotting a courtside seat for Dončić’s first game back in Dallas as a visitor.
And suddenly, all eyes are on the Lakers, who now boast a nuclear offensive duo in LeBron James and Dončić. If they make the right moves around them, the title window is wide open.
Los Angeles already addressed its glaring hole at the five by trading rookie Dalton Knecht and its last remaining first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for a budding star in Mark Williams.
THE NBA TAKES OVER SUPER BOWL WEEK
The NFL’s biggest game is just days away, but somehow, it’s the NBA dominating headlines.
No one’s talking about Chiefs vs. Eagles. They’re talking about Luka in L.A., Wemby’s new co-star, Butler’s gladiator match with Green, and the Bucks rolling the dice on Kuzma.
Perennial All-Stars don’t get traded this often — let alone during Super Bowl week.
The NFL will get its time on Sunday.
But this week? It belongs to basketball.