Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) moves the ball against the Houston Rockets. / Jonathan

The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks combined to pull off arguably the most stunning trade in NBA history on a late Saturday night in February. Perhaps the biggest X-factor in pulling off such a massive trade? Secrecy.

Before the Lakers and Mavericks made the trade, barely anyone knew about the two team’s planswhen the trade was reported, and Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd had no clue either. Though trades of such magnitude can often get leaked in advance, there was no such leak with this league-shifting move.

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss explained that secrecy was essential for getting the Doncic-Davis trade done after leaks had previously stopped the Lakers from making certain moves.

“I have a feeling if it did leak, the trade probably wouldn’t have happened, and for so many different reasons,” Buss told Rob Perez and Antonio Daniels on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “People working against us, that would not want to see that trade happen. Keeping things under wraps is really, really important. Our circle is tight because over the years, we did have problems with things leaking out and that did disrupt plans and caused some problems in our basketball operations. … Finally we got rid of the problem. Now we can keep things under wraps when we choose to. … I really learned a lesson there that you’ve always got to do what’s best for the organization because everybody’s got their angle in how they want something to go.”

The Lakers managed to kep the blockbuster trade a secret this time, and it’s paid off. Doncic to no surprise has already become a massive addition for Los Angeles, helping the Lakers earn the No. 3 seed. With Doncic, the Lakers are real contenders this season, and in future years to come.