The 2024/2025 NBA season may be over, but some of its biggest moments still linger in the hearts of fans. Perhaps no moment was bigger than Luka Doncic’s shocking midseason trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers, a move that drastically changed the future of both franchises.
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One person who can’t stop thinking about the deal is Ralph Barbosa. The famed comedian shared his thoughts about it during a recent appearance on NFL legend Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay program. While discussing his sports fandom and revealing that he likes the Mavs, Sharpe hit Barbosa with a very painful question.
“You a Mavericks fan. You find out they’re trading Luka. What goes through your mind?” asked Sharpe. Barbosa took a minute to recall how much of a gut punch that was. “Bunch of cuss words. Bunch of bad stuff about the new owner. Then tears. Cause he didn’t even want to go,” he began.
To be honest, he’s not alone. Dallas may have gotten Anthony Davis and a few other pieces from around the league, but The Don was their meal ticket, not just to a title, but to years of fantastic basketball. He was the Big D’s main attraction. This irritated Barbosa to no end, so much so that he could only think of this analogy to explain how it felt.
“It’s like when your mom has a new boyfriend and you like him a lot, but then she dumps him or like she cheats on him. It’s like bro, ‘We finally had one.’ He wanted to be here.” This brought Sharpe to uproarious laughter, and Barbosa wasn’t even done yet. The comedian revealed that he despises the team that Luka now calls home.
“And then it’s worse because I don’t like the Lakers. It’s like of all the people, the Lakers? That’s horrible. That’s like if your chick starts b*nging your worst enemy. That just hurts,” he said, which made the entire broadcast booth laugh.
It’s not even like Mavs fans got to enjoy what they were given. Davis got injured in his very first start on a non-contact play. A short time after that, their other big star, Kyrie Irving, went down with an ACL injury. Dealing Doncic away wasn’t just a heartbreaker, it was essentially a curse of bad luck that fell upon the city.
And Luka found instant success in Los Angeles. He helped the Lakers reach the No. 3 spot in the West and played his heart out in the playoffs for the Purple and Gold. They ended up getting knocked out by the Timberwolves, mainly because they didn’t have any bigs to balance out their team.
What’s worse for Barbosa is that LA just signed Luka to a three-year extension, so even if there was a chance he could return to Dallas, it’s not happening anytime soon. It’s a new NBA now, and this league is steadily being built around Doncic’s greatness. It’s a shame that those dedicated Dallas fans now have to watch him carry the league’s greatest franchise to new heights.
