Former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban had a reputation for being close to his players and standing up for them during controversies. However, as far as Luka Doncic 's beer incident after Game 5 of the 2024 Western Conference finals, Cuban took the side of Mavs VP of Basketball Operations Michael Finley .
In that controversial scene caught on camera, Doncic was seen drinking a can of beer in the tunnel while talking to his father after the Mavs clinched the Western Conference title. Finley entered the picture and took the beer from Luka's hand without saying much, causing Luka's face to show an expression of disbelief.
The video became viral, and Finley drew flak, especially after Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers . However, as Cuban explained during his recent appearance on "The Arena" with Gilbert Arenas, Finley was correct in taking the beer from Doncic because the Slovenian sensation was about to do an interview.
"It wasn't because he didn't want him to drink it. It was because there was cameras everywhere. And it's not just cool when a player's doing an interview with a beer. So Michael wasn't worried about "Oh, you're going to gain weight or any of that s–t. Like if he didn't do it, I would have done it," said Cuban.
Many connected Finley's actions with the Mavs' issues with Luka's off-court habits. After they traded him to the Lakers, reports surfaced that the Mavs took exception to Doncic's social practices, particularly drinking alcohol and smoking hookah. They said that if he continued with that lifestyle, his career would become a catastrophe in five years.
Luka took all the criticisms personally and spent the entire summer working on getting in shape. The result? Fat Luka became No Carb Doncic, who was featured on the cover of Men's Magazine because of his incredible body transformation. However, as Cuban insisted, it was never about Luka's health or physical shape.
"It was more about cameras going to be rolling," he added. "You're going to need to be talking. Nobody needs to know that you're drinking a beer. How many times have you seen a player do an interview with a beer in his hand? So I agree with it. Finn did the right thing. I was standing right there. If it was wrong, I'd be like 'Get him another one.'"
But while Cuban defended Finley, former NBA player Marcus Morris said that if he were in Luka's shoes, he would have felt disrespected by Fin because the team had just won the Western Conference title and had every right to celebrate, beer or without beer.
"I seen Michael Finley take that beer out of his hand, and I know a lot of people might not have looked at that, but as a player, I didn't like how that looked. We just won, we celebrating. I have a beer. There's cameras, and you kind of take that away from me, it's like you trying to hint at something...I didn't agree with that," Marcus said .
During the actual incident, it looked like Luka did not appreciate what Mike did. But in the aftermath, he never addressed it publicly, which likely suggests he understood the philosophy behind it and didn't have an issue, leaving it to the media to turn it into something bigger than it really was.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
