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Luka Doncic formerly of the Dallas Mavericks celebrates after a 124-103 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals.
Dallas Mavericks executive Michael Finley finally broke his silence after being vilified in a viral video that showed him briefly taking a celebratory beer from Luka Dončić during the team’s Western Conference Finals celebration.
Nearly two years after the clip spread widely across social media, Finley says the moment has been widely misunderstood.
Speaking Thursday on 105.3 The Fan, Finley explained that he was not trying to stop Dončić from celebrating after Dallas clinched its trip to the 2024 NBA Finals. Instead, he said he was simply holding the drink momentarily so the Mavericks’ photographers could capture a photo of Dončić with his father.
“This is the God’s honest truth about the beer situation with our former player,” Finley said. “So after the game in Minnesota, we win the Western Conference championship, we’re on our way to the Finals. I leave the court. I see No. 77 standing over there having a beer, and I say, ‘Congratulations, young fella. You definitely deserve that beer.’”
Finley said Dončić thanked him before the celebrations continued.
“And he’s like, ‘Thanks, Fin. Thanks.’”
Viral Luka Dončić Beer Clip From Mavericks Finals Run
The moment occurred after Dallas defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves to clinch the Western Conference title in May 2024.
Video circulating on social media appeared to show Finley grabbing a beer from Dončić during the celebration, leading some fans to speculate that the Mavericks executive had stepped in to stop the franchise star from drinking.
Finley said the reality was far less dramatic.
After celebrating inside the locker room — where champagne was flowing and photos were being taken — he stepped outside and noticed members of the Mavericks’ media team hesitating to take a picture.
“I’m like, ‘What’s going on, guys? What’s wrong?’” Finley said.
“They said, ‘We want to take a picture of Luka and his dad.’”
The issue, Finley explained, was that Dončić was holding a beer at the time.
“They said, ‘But Luka’s holding a beer. He’s drinking a beer.’”
Mavericks Executive Says Beer Was Returned Minutes Later
Finley said he stepped in only to help the photographers capture the moment.
“When you watch the video,” Finley explained, “I go, I 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.’”
Once the photo was taken, Finley said the situation lasted only a couple of minutes.
“I take the beer, he looks at me in an odd way, they take the picture, two minutes later he comes back and I give him the beer and we continue to celebrate our win.”
Finley emphasized that, as a former player himself, he wanted Dončić to fully enjoy the moment.
“I’ve been there, I’ve done that and I don’t take it for granted,” Finley said. “And when a guy like Luka, and what he had done for the team that season, that series, he deserved a chance to celebrate.”
“And I gave the beer back,” he added. “We celebrated in the locker room. We had a great night. Great trip and went on to the Finals.”
Past Reports on Dončić Added Context to Viral Reaction
The clip later resurfaced online partly because of reporting that emerged months after the Mavericks traded Dončić, which scrutinized the superstar’s conditioning and off-court habits.
Following the trade, ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon reported that concerns about Dončić’s conditioning had been part of Dallas’ internal evaluation.
“The Mavericks had major concerns about moving forward with Luka Dončić due to his constant conditioning issues and the looming commitment of another supermax contract extension this summer,” MacMahon wrote on X at the time.
Reporting from Sam Amick of The Athletic also described frustrations among some observers regarding Dončić’s conditioning and lifestyle habits during his final stretch in Dallas.
“Make no mistake, the people who witnessed Dončić’s last days in Dallas do not paint a flattering portrait of the 25-year-old’s professionalism,” Amick wrote at the time. “They call him lazy. They talk about the weight issues that were such a frequent frustration within their walls. They mention the social habits that The Athletic has reported on — such as a taste for beer and hookah — which have been a point of concern for NBA types since he was a 19-year-old star for Real Madrid who was entering the NBA Draft.”
Those later reports added retrospective context to the viral celebration moment, even though Finley insists the beer incident itself had a far more mundane explanation.
For Finley, the now-famous moment was never meant to send a message — it was simply about making sure the Mavericks captured the right photo before the celebration continued.
Alder Almo is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 20 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo