Dallas Mavericks interim GM Michael Finley finally addressed one of the more viral moments from the Mavericks’ 2024 playoff run. During an appearance on the 105.3 The Fan podcast, the interim general manager explained what really happened when he briefly took a celebratory beer away from Luka Doncic after the Western Conference Finals.
The moment quickly spread across social media at the time. Cameras captured Finley walking over to Doncic and removing the beer from his hand while the Mavericks star was celebrating with his father after Dallas clinched the Western Conference championship against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
At the time, many fans speculated that the team was concerned about Doncic’s conditioning or lifestyle habits. Finley, however, says the reality was much simpler.
“This is the God honest truth about the beer situation with our former player. After the game in Minnesota, we win the Western Conference Championship. We’re on the way to the Finals. I leave the court, and I see number 77 standing over there having a beer. I say, ‘Congratulations, young fellow. You definitely deserve that beer.'”
“And he’s like, ‘Thanks, fam. Thanks.’ I leave him. I go into the locker room and celebrate with the rest of the team. Champagne’s being popped, pictures are being taken, and we’re having a jolly old time. Then I come out of the locker room, and our social media department is frozen. I’m like, ‘What’s going on, guys? What’s wrong?’ They said, ‘We want to take a picture of Luka and his dad.’ I said, ‘Well, take the picture. What are you guys great at? 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, ‘Okay, I’ll do it.’ So when you watch the video, I go over, and I take the beer. I hug Luka again. That’s why Luka looked like, ‘Man, what are you doing? We just talked about this, and you said it was cool.’ I take the beer. He looks at me a certain way.”
“They take the picture. Two minutes later, he comes back, and I give him the beer. We continue celebrating our win. A lot of people want to make more of it than it was.”
“Winning in this league is hard. Winning in the regular season is hard, and winning in the playoffs is even harder. I’ve been there. I’ve done that. I don’t take it for granted. And when a guy like Luka does what he did for the team that season and that series, he deserves a chance to celebrate. I didn’t want to take that from him.”
“But our department wanted to celebrate him as well by posting him on our social media outlets without the beer. So I said, ‘Hey, let’s do this.’ I gave the beer back, we celebrated in the locker room, had a great night, a great trip, and went on to the Finals. That’s the story. The whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
Even former Mavericks owner Mark Cuban later supported the decision, saying the move had nothing to do with health concerns. Instead, it was about optics during a moment when cameras and interviews were everywhere.
Still, the moment later became part of a broader narrative surrounding Doncic’s time in Dallas. Reports eventually surfaced questioning his conditioning, weight management, and lifestyle habits, including references to beer and hookah.
The Mavericks ultimately traded Doncic despite him leading the team to the Finals. Since joining the Los Angeles Lakers, however, the superstar guard has responded with an MVP-level season, averaging 32.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists while shooting 47.5% from the field and 36.2% from three-point range.
Meanwhile, the player Dallas acquired in the blockbuster deal, Anthony Davis, struggled with injuries during his brief tenure and eventually moved on to the Washington Wizards after appearing in just 29 games over a season and a half.
For many fans, the beer incident now feels like a small snapshot of a relationship that eventually unraveled. What started as a simple moment during a championship celebration has since become one of the more memorable symbols of the complicated ending to Doncic’s time in Dallas.
