Lakers vs. Mavericks in Las Vegas: Luka Dončić and Cooper Flagg’s Surprise Exhibition Game Showdown Revealed!

There’s a curious buzz brewing on the Vegas Strip this October as the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks gear up for a preseason face-off—planned not by the NBA, but by the teams themselves. This matchup is steeped in drama, considering just months ago, the Mavericks sent Luka Dončić packing in one of the most debated trades sports fans have seen in ages. Since that seismic move, the Lakers stumbled out of the playoffs early, while the Mavericks struck gold in the NBA Draft lottery, eyeing Duke’s Cooper Flagg to step up as their new beacon of hope. Will we see Dončić, Flagg, or both light up the T-Mobile Arena on October 15? The suspense is real. And while the NBA’s official schedule still hangs in the balance, these teams are clearly ready to savor every ounce of hype under Las Vegas’s glow. LEARN MORESince that trade, the Lakers flamed out of the first round of the playoffs, and the Mavericks won the NBA Draft lottery. Dallas will presumably select Duke phenom Cooper Flagg, who will be immediately handed the torch that Dončić carried as the team’s franchise player and long-term hope for championship success.This is a decision made not by the NBA, but by the two teams that completed one of the most controversial trades in sports history just months ago when the Mavericks dealt Luka Dončić to the Lakers.Advertisement

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“Teams arrange their own schedules, pick their own opponents and have their own reasons for doing so. … There are few rules for the preseason. They don’t even play games if they don’t want to. The NBA doesn’t mandate a minimum number of games, just that teams can’t play more than six each year. The rest is up to the teams themselves.”AdvertisementBut the Lakers and Mavericks seem content to cash in on the hype in a matchup that should garner considerably more attention than your average NBA preseason contest.

The Lakers confirmed the existence of the game Monday. And to be clear, this is a game that both teams chose to schedule, as is custom with the NBA preseason. As The Athletic explained in a feature on the NBA preseason last fall:

When will the Lakers and Mavericks play in a game that actually counts? That’s yet to be determined. The NBA schedule generally isn’t set until August. Until then, both teams will maintain their collective buzz amid the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip.