Luka Doncic Is “Going to Have a Huge, Huge Chip on His Shoulder” Over Unceremonious Mavs Exit, Says Stephen A. Smith

Everyone’s mind is scrambling following the Luka Doncic trade, as the NBA landscape has now been permanently altered. Stephen A. Smith tried to predict what’s going through the mind of Doncic himself in the aftermath of the move. The longtime sports analyst believes the newest Los Angeles Laker will be coming for revenge against not only his former franchise but the rest of the league as well.

After being publicly criticized for his conditioning issues and supposedly lazy tendencies, Doncic will have a lot to prove with his new team. Those problems never stopped the 25-year-old from ranking among the league’s top talents, but the disrespect he received from his former regime likely sparked a new competitive fire in him.

On a recent episode of First Take, Stephen A. said,

“We need to pay attention to Luka Doncic. He’s going to have a huge, huge chip on his shoulder.” 

Smith explained how Doncic will have ample opportunity to prove that Dallas was wrong for trading him after moving up to select him in the 2018 NBA Draft. Once viewed as an untouchable and integral piece of the franchise and city, Doncic now has an opportunity to etch his name into Lakers history.

“We need to pay attention to Luka Doncic.” @stephenasmith says Luka will have a “chip on his shoulder” with the Lakers after being “unceremoniously dismissed” from the Mavericks pic.twitter.com/tvgKH0j0Tx

— First Take (@FirstTake) February 5, 2025

It’s rare to see a superstar traded in the NBA and even rarer to see a superstar moved despite constantly voicing his loyalty to the franchise. Luka was expected to be the Mavericks’ next Dirk Nowitzki in the sense that he would spend his career in Dallas, but his Mavs tenure is now over after just six-and-a-half seasons.

Now, the reigning scoring champion has every reason to have a chip on his shoulder. Doncic will undoubtedly want to prove the masses wrong after his fitness and weight became a focus of discussion.

Doncic is excited for a new opportunity but still emotional over Mavs exit

Despite being involved in one of the most unceremonious trades in NBA history, Doncic has seemingly taken the high road in his response to the move.

In his first statement since the trade was finalized, Doncic said,

“That’s [the Mavs] decision, I have no comment on that. They made a decision, I don’t know why … I can’t do nothing about it.”

The seventh-year veteran also underlined that he never expressed any hesitation about signing a supermax deal with Dallas.

While obviously emotional over the unprecedented move, Doncic still seemed excited about the idea of joining one of the league’s most historic franchises. Doncic expressed his optimism during his introductory press conference and will now have the foreseeable future to solidify himself as a Lakers legend.