Shams Charania Addresses Hacking Speculation After Bombshell Luka Doncic Trade

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Angelo Guinhawa | Last updated Mar 13, 2025 8:46 PM ET

When Shams Charania of ESPN broke the news that the Dallas Mavericks were trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers early in February, no one initially believed him. After all, it made no sense for the Mavs to trade a Top-5 player for an oft-injured and aging big man in Anthony Davis.

With that said, the reply section of Charania's report about the trade was filled with comments speculating that he was hacked. At the time, it was the only logical explanation for his report that came out of left field.

Now, during an interview with "The Young Man and The Three" podcast, Charania reflected on the moment that he dropped the bombshell report and touched on the messages he got after it.

The veteran NBA newsbreaker shared that he saw all the hacking speculations, noting that he got plenty of messages and calls about it.

"After that, my phone was a mess," Charania shared. "I had up to 300 text messages. ... Everybody with the same message: 'Did you get hacked? Did you get hacked? Check your phone, you got hacked.'"

“My hands were shaking” — @ShamsCharania goes in detail on how the Luka-AD trade came about with @KOT4Q, Cam Johnson & @talter. NEW YM3 TOMORROW pic.twitter.com/riKR26HhXI
— TheYoungManAndTheThree (@OldManAndThree) March 13, 2025

Shams Charania also opened up about how he felt about the trade, admitting that his hands were "shaking" as he typed the news from his phone.

"You had to make sure every detail was right. You had to make sure there was no typo. I just remember, my hands were trembling," Charania added. "I didn't have a graphic to go with it because it was so sudden."

Clearly, it was quite the wild turn of events for the ESPN reporter. At the end of the day, though, it only further highlights how crazy the deal was.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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