Suns’ Devin Booker trolls Mavericks after Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis blockbuster trade
Feb 2, 2025, 10:30 AM
The Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis blockbuster deal sent shockwaves throughout the NBA on Saturday night, so much so that Devin Booker was initially in disbelief when the deal went down.
@protectedpick @scooperhoops the moment Book heard about the Luka trade pic.twitter.com/LOGskNkXF3
— Mikey Duran (@mikeyduran) February 2, 2025
The Suns guard told reporters after Phoenix lost in Portland that he originally thought a different Luka had been dealt at first. Booker said someone told the Suns players sitting on the bench during the game that “Luka” had been traded and Booker said he thought it was Timberwolves center Luka Garza instead of Luka Doncic.
“It’s crazy, man,” Booker told reporters after the game. “I really don’t know what to say about it. Luka (Doncic) being a guy that everybody has claimed is untouchable and untradeable. The NBA shows you again. You can’t predict it. It’s a business, they’re always having a conversation about you, so don’t think you’re safe at any point.”
Devin Booker gets the last laugh on social media
Booker then took to social media to troll the Dallas Mavericks official account on X early on Sunday morning.
The Mavericks took their turn at the recent viral sensation of “posting a random picture and expecting people to understand it.”
The picture the Mavericks posted on Thursday was of Doncic teasing Booker during Dallas’ 33-point blowout victory in Game 7 of the 2022 Western Conference semifinals in Phoenix.
Dallas captioned the photo, “Ok last one we swear,” and because Doncic was traded, Booker in a very tongue-in-cheek way trolled the Mavericks and quote tweeted their post because it indeed would be the last time.
Kept their word https://t.co/f4szGOQLm4
— Book (@DevinBook) February 2, 2025
Devin Booker and Luka Doncic’s beef explained
Booker and Doncic’s history can first be traced all the way back to the 2018 NBA Draft, where the Suns passed on Doncic and drafted Deandre Ayton at No. 1 overall. The Slovenian guard who played for Real Madrid was picked third by the Atlanta Hawks (and later traded to Dallas).
Tensions significantly escalated when the Suns and Mavericks played in the 2022 Western Conference semifinals. Phoenix led the series 2-0, and then 3-2. The Suns took Game 5 by 30 points, and during the game Booker was fouled by Dallas’ Dorian Finney-Smith and took a hard fall.
The Suns guard remained on the ground for a considerable amount of time before he smiled and said, “The Luka special,” a dig at Doncic’s ability to try and sell foul calls to referees.
Doncic could later be heard saying, “Everybody acts tough when they’re up” when walking off the floor after the loss in Game 5 before the Mavericks took the next two games.
The following season saw even more animosity between the two during a game between the Suns and Mavericks on March 5, 2023. After Doncic missed a layup that would have tied the score with 3.5 seconds left, Booker walked over to Doncic and riled him up. Leaked audio of the exchange was later shared (explicit language warning) on social media.
“That’s a charge,” Booker could be heard saying.
Doncic later turned to Booker and said, “Shut the (expletive) up.”
Booker replied, “Don’t (expletive) with me,” before the two players got in each other’s faces.
“Don’t play with me,” the Suns’ guard added before the altercation was broken up.