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'NBA 2K25' vetoes attempted Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade

Originally posted on NBA on ClutchPoints | By Jon Martin | Last updated Feb 3, 2025 11:12 AM ET

The NBA world was rocked by one of the wildest trades in league history late Saturday night: Luka Doncic to the Lakers and Anthony Davis to the Mavericks. Fans, analysts, and even players were left in shock — because, in all honesty, nobody thought Luka would ever leave Dallas. But you know who else rejected the trade? NBA 2K25.

If you try to replicate the deal in the game, NBA 2K25 flat-out denies it, claiming it’s too unbalanced. And honestly? They’re not entirely wrong.

The trade logic in NBA 2K25 operates on player ratings, contracts, potential, and team needs. And while the Lakers and Mavericks’ front offices saw a fair deal in real life, 2K saw what everybody else did: madness.

Doncic, at 25 years old, is seen as an MVP-caliber superstar with an even higher ceiling. Davis, while still a dominant force, is a few years older and also has a history of injuries. In video game terms, Luka is “untouchable,” while AD is just “valuable.” So when fans tried to run the trade in MyNBA mode, the virtual Mavericks refused, saying they wouldn’t give up Luka for what the Lakers were offering.

Legit this Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade isn’t even doable on NBA 2K because the Mavs aren’t getting enough pic.twitter.com/yGY6hmLsgo

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 2, 2025

The real-life trade that inspired the NBA 2K25 attempt

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (center) talks with team staff during the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at the American Airlines Center. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Here’s what went down in reality: the Lakers received Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris while Dallas brought in Davis, Max Christie, Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick. The Utah Jazz, also involved in the move, collected Jalen Hood-Schifino and two second-round picks.

The rationale behind the trade is that the Lakers get a young superstar to pair with LeBron James, while the Mavericks acquire one of the league’s best defensive big men to team up with Kyrie Irving.

Mavs GM Nico Harrison justified the move, saying, “Defense wins championships.” But fans weren’t buying it. Kevin Durant summed up everyone’s reaction perfectly: “If Luka can get traded, anybody is up for grabs.”

No matter how far technology and AI-based logic has come, it’s nearly impossible to replicate human-based decisions in a simulation. NBA 2K25 runs entirely on numbers — overall ratings, potential scores, and contract values. But in real life, teams consider much more than just stats. Dallas might have felt that Luka’s conditioning and long-term contract situation made this the right time to move on, but NBA 2K doesn’t account for that.

This whole saga proves one thing, the NBA is unpredictable — sometimes even too unpredictable for a video game to process. Whether or not the trade works out in real life remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: 2K players will have to turn off trade logic if they want to see Luka in purple and gold.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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