When the Dallas Mavericks reached the NBA Finals in 2024, an awkward exchange occurred between superstar Luka Doncic and Mavs executive Michael Finley. Nearly two years later, we now have the full story.
Maybe it was a meaningless interaction that got misinterpreted online ... or maybe it was the start of it all?
Either way, back when the Dallas Mavericks clinched their ticket to the NBA Finals for just the third time in franchise history in 2024 by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, a particular moment in the postgame celebration made headlines between Luka Doncic and Michael Finley.
Doncic, the MVP of the series and cornerstone of the Mavs franchise, was enjoying a beer just outside the Dallas locker room alongside his father. Finley, the then-assistant general manager, rolled through and gently removed the beverage from Luka's hands, initiating a confused shrug from the Slovenian point guard.
Mavs fans know how the rest of the story goes.
Just months after Dallas was gentleman swept in the Finals by Boston, Doncic was sent away in arguably the most lopsided trade in major sports history this century (or ever). Much of the reasoning behind his trade to the Los Angeles Lakers related to his physique and in-shape fluctuation potentially impacting his risk of injury, according to now-fired GM Nico Harrison.
With Finley now in the interim predecessor role in the first full season that's followed, the former Maverick shared for the first time what that interaction truly meant outside locker room in Minnesota.
“I leave the court. I see number 77 standing over there having a beer, and I say, ‘Congratulations, young fella, you definitely deserve that beer,'" Finley shared on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas.
"And he's like, ‘Thanks, man, thanks.’ I leave him. I go in the locker room. I celebrate with the rest of the team. We're having a great time. Champagne is being popped. Pictures are being taken and we're having a jolly old time. And I come out of the locker room and our social media department is, is frozen.
"I'm like, 'What’s going on guys? What's wrong?' They said, 'We wanna take a picture of Luka and his dad.' I said, well, take the picture. You guys are great at it, take the picture. They said, 'But Luka’s holding a beer, he's drinking a beer.' I said, 'Well, go take the beer from him.' They said, 'What? We can't do that. I said, 'OK, I'll do it.' So when you watch the video, I go take the beer, I hug Luka again, and that's why Luka looked like, 'Man, what are you doing? We just talked about this and you said it was cool.'"
So that's that. Mavs fans, as Doncic did, largely shrugged off the interaction as meaningless, believing it was in no way some sort of twisted foreshadowing into the All-Star's fate in Dallas. Except it did appear, at least a little bit, to look like that in hindsight.
Finley later explained that his story is the "God-honest truth" and that he eventually returned the beer to Doncic.
Luka averaged 32.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists in the Western Conference Finals against the Wolves. For his Mavericks career, his 28.6 career points per game average was the third-highest in NBA history.
The Mavericks, through a miraculous stroke of luck, have moved on to Cooper Flagg as Doncic settles into his spot in LA alongside Austin Reaves and LeBron James.
MFFLs may be the last group to find peace in the entire ordeal, but with Finley still representing the organization, his revealing that the viral clip didn't have as much malice behind it as fans first interpreted could be classified some sign of seeking closure with the fan base.
"Listen, winning in this league is hard — not only in the regular season, but in the playoffs. I've been there, I've done that, and I don't take it for granted," Finley added. "When a guy like Luka did what he did for the team that season, that series, he deserved a chance to celebrate.
"I didn't want to take that from him. Our department wanted to celebrate him as well by publicizing him on our social media outlets without the beer. So I was like, 'Hey, let's do this.' I gave the beer back. We celebrated in the locker room, had a great night, great trip, and went on to the Finals.
"And yeah, that's the story — the whole truth and nothing but the truth, as they say."