Mark Cuban took to X to fire shots at the NBA for not nominating Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to the 2025 NBA All-Star game. He joked that the NBA All-Star game would do disappointing television numbers once again. He then added that the NBA is going to continue behaving the way they have for years, before noting how ridiculous it was that Doncic and Irving were not selected to play in the All-Star game.
“Those TV ratings for All-Star are gonna be crazy… Lol, NBA gonna NBA. Just insane Luka and Kai aren’t going.”
Mark Cuban is the former majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, now the minority owner, and is an ardent and vocal fan of the franchise. So for him to be supportive of both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving is far from surprising. Doncic especially is a player Cuban has been incredibly supportive of, as he played a big part in landing him in the 2018 Draft, pulling off a trade with the Atlanta Hawks on draft night to make it happen.
This marks the first season since his rookie year in 2018-19 that Luka Doncic has not made an All-Star team. Many presume Doncic’s lengthy absence due to injury is what caused him to be snubbed. Doncic played in just 22 games per season, averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field, 35.4% from deep, and 76.7% from the stripe.
Unfortunately for Luka, he has now missed the maximum threshold of games allowed in the NBA to be eligible for end-of-season awards and teams, meaning his five-year streak of making an All-NBA team will end this year.
As for Kyrie Irving, this is the second year in a row since joining the Mavericks that Irving has not made an All-Star team. Irving’s last All-Star nomination came in 2023. And while he was a Mavericks player on the night of the All-Star game, he had earned his nomination due to his performances with the Brooklyn Nets.
Cuban, as a minority owner and a fan, is right to be frustrated about his two star players not being named All-Stars this season. However, unlike a lot of players in the league, Irving and Doncic lost out on their nominations for valid reasons. For Luka, it was his injury absence, and for Kyrie, it was because of his subdued performances even in the absence of Doncic.
Playing as the primary option for the Mavericks for a large chunk of the season (16 out of his 38 games), Kyrie Irving has averaged 24.2 points, 4.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game while shooting 48.2% from the field, 41.9% from beyond the arc, and 89.7% from the free-throw line.
Despite playing a large portion of the season as the lone star player, Irving’s averages in all five major statistical categories are down from the previous season.
Cuban is not the only person to complain about the NBA’s All-Star nominations. Devin Booker recently called out the NBA after being snubbed from the 2025 All-Star game. Clearly there is a lot of frustration among players, owners, and fans about the latest All-Star selections.
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