Shams Charania on reporting Luka Dončić trade: ‘My hands were shaking’

What was reporting on the Luka Dončić trade like for ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania? Sudden — and nerve-wracking.

Charania spoke about the experience on The Young Man And The Three. He revealed that after the Los Angeles Lakers had defeated the New York Knicks, he was getting ready for his flight to Bristol the following morning. Then, shortly after 11 p.m., he was tipped off about a possible trade between the Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Charania also revealed that he had earlier been told of a possible deal between the two teams, only none of the players that were eventually traded were involved in that. After talking to four or five people, Charania learned about the full trade. Then it was time to share the news.

“My hands were shaking,” Charania said. “You had to make sure, like, every detail was right. You had to make sure there was no typo. And I just remember, like, my hands were trembling. I didn’t have a graphic to go with it because it was so sudden. Like, you don’t even have time to prep for it. It’s not like you make a Luka Dončić graphic beforehand. You don’t even know. And so, by the time I heard about it to the time I put it out, probably 5-7 minutes went by. Five confirmed sources on it.”

“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

He then revealed that his “phone was a mess,” with a lot of people texting him wondering if he was hacked — which was a common thought that night.

“I had up to like 300 text messages,” he recalled. “I answered five people on phone calls. Texts I couldn’t. It was just too many. Literally up to 300 messages. And everyone with the same message. ‘Did you get hacked? Did you get hacked?’ ‘Check your phone, you got hacked.’ Everyone had the same response. People were like, ‘Are you OK? Did something happen? Who took your phone?'”