The Dallas Mavericks saw the stark consequences of their blockbuster trade in action on Tuesday as former franchise star Luka Doncic put up a triple-double in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 107–99 win at Crypto.com Arena.
Doncic has averaged 19.0 points across five games for the Lakers this year, a far cry from the 33.9 points he averaged during an MVP-caliber campaign for the Mavs just a season ago. Yet, the Slovenian star has slowly but surely been finding his footing alongside LeBron James in Los Angeles.
On Tuesday night, Doncic looked like his signature, fiery self again dishing out no-look assists and sinking effortless threes. The 25-year-old put on a show for all those in attendance, from the Mavs general manager who upended his life to the man who orchestrated his arrival to Dallas seven years ago.
Mark Cuban was in the house for Doncic’s revenge game against the Mavericks and was seen sharing a sweet moment with Doncic’s dad and agent, seemingly erasing any notion of bad blood between the two.
However, in a mildly hilarious twist, Cuban may have actually been Doncic’s biggest antagonizer in the Lakers’ win. Cuban reportedly booed Doncic every single time Doncic touched the ball, at one point causing the All-Star guard to turn around, smile and say, “Shut up, Mark.”
When asked what it was like to root against Doncic, Cuban bluntly replied, “I hated it.”
Cuban, like nearly everyone else, was kept in the dark about the stunning Doncic trade on Feb. 2 and apparently didn’t know about it until just before the deal was announced. Had Cuban not sold his majority stake of the team to the Adelson family in December 2023, things likely would have turned out a lot differently. But now, seeing Doncic in the purple-and-gold is the new reality that Cuban and the rest of the Mavs organization will just have to accept.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mark Cuban Had Three-Word Response to Rooting Against Luka Doncic in Lakers-Mavs Game.