Mark Cuban's reason behind viral Luka Doncic-Mavericks video is still confusing

Mark Cuban gave some backstory to why Michael Finley took Luka Doncic's beer away after winning the 2024 Western Conference Finals.

May 30, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) at a press conference after winning the Western Conference Championship against the Minnesota Timberwolves in game five of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

After the 2024 Western Conference Finals and the Dallas Mavericks emerged victorious over the Minnesota Timberwolves, a clip went viral of former Mav and the team's current assistant general manager, Michael Finley, taking a beer away from Luka Doncic in the back tunnel.

Minority owner Mark Cuban gave some context behind the clip on "Gil's Arena" with former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas.

"I was standing right there, I was fine with it," Cuban started. "And it wasn't because [Finley] didn't want [Doncic] to drink it, there was cameras everywhere. It's just not cool when a player is doing an interview with a beer. Michael wasn’t worried about, 'Oh, you're going to gain weight,' or any of that s**t. If he didn’t do it, I would have done it."

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One year ago today, Michael Finley caught Luka Doncic drinking a beer and took it away after the Mavs advanced to the NBA Finals 😭

(via @GrantAfseth)pic.twitter.com/v7tMcC6ldj

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 30, 2025

It seems highly unlikely that Doncic would've taken a beer into the press conference room. Sure, there were cameras, but he was enjoying a moment with his dad after advancing to the NBA Finals. Seems like overkill.

Looking back, especially with Nico Harrison in the video, it can be seen as another step in the process of Harrison not liking how Doncic treats his body off the court, as much as Cuban may want to deny it.

However, when Doncic is traded about seven months after the initial video is taken, it does raise a question. Many of the reasons given for the Mavericks' decision to part ways with a 25-year-old megastar before he reaches his prime are that they believed Doncic was out of shape and didn't take conditioning seriously.

Luka Doncic Took the Disrespect Personally

Now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, Luka Doncic clearly took the noise coming from the Mavericks after the trade as a sign, and he now looks like he's in the best shape of his life. He graced the cover of Men's Health magazine, where they detailed his changes in his workout routine and his diet.

He has been torching the FIBA EuroBasket Tournament with the new body changes. In the last three games, he's had a 26-point triple-double against Belgium, a 39-9-8 game against France, and a 34-point game (with 5 steals) against Poland. Unfortunately, the team around him hasn't been able to keep up with the rest of Europe's powers, so Slovenia is 1-2 thus far.

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