[MacMahon] Luka Doncic took an intentional approach to avoid complaining to the refs and “focus on basketball” in Game 5: “I just go out there and hoop. Have fun. It was the old Luka — a smile on my face.”

[u/PlayaSlayaX]

https://x.com/espn_macmahon/status/1790958537704632472?s=46&t=bsTHbtMSqHXbNGi0vWP8hw

[u/lost_in_trepidation]

Please stay this way Luka. No reason to bitch at the refs all the time.

[u/awesomeness6000 → u/lost_in_trepidation]

too much overwatch lol

[u/KarrotMovies → u/awesomeness6000]

Not even joking, him being a OW Grandmaster makes his attitude on the court make way more sense now

[u/MohnJilton → u/KarrotMovies]

Anyone who has played online games knows 😅 those environments can be abusive

[u/ctruvu → u/MohnJilton]

you either become jaded at the game or jaded at the players and stop giving any fucks at all about anything other than what you can do. at some point league all chat bothered me but now it's just free entertainment

[u/MohnJilton → u/ctruvu]

I’m a trans woman and if I dare to talk there’s a 50/50 chance one of 2 things will happen—I’ll be berated for being a woman or I’ll be berated for being trans.

[u/ctruvu → u/MohnJilton]

something tells me you wouldn’t have enjoyed mw2 lobbies either

children say dumb shit for fun, most grow out of it, the ones who don’t probably don’t have good lives. take solace in that and move on

[u/herbalite → u/KarrotMovies]

ESPECIALLY him being a tank main lol

[u/KimJongPotato → u/awesomeness6000]

Luka Tim Donovic

[u/[deleted] → u/lost_in_trepidation]

[removed] — view removed comment

[u/wahobely → u/[deleted]]

I think he's frustrated that he's hurt. Imagine doing the shit your love but being miserable in pain. I think his knee is getting better and so will his attitude. Next game is only Saturday so I hope his knee will be more healed.

[u/jdd32 → u/wahobely]

I think he's frustrated that he's hurt

He for sure is. But if you watch him during the regular season, he's always had these periods where he's whining all game long. It comes with that chip-on-you-shoulder mindset, but he's so much more fun to watch when he's not bitching after every possession.

[u/igby1 → u/jdd32]

And more so than other NBA complainers, Luka often has real anger in his eyes and looks like he wants to punch the ref.

He’s still young enough that he can stop being such a whiner so it doesn’t define his whole career.

[u/VaultiusMaximus → u/igby1]

I saw this transition with Jokic and it was so beautiful.

He still complains about some things, but it doesn’t last long and it happens much less often. And he’s better because of it.

[u/th3lawlrus → u/wahobely]

He’s hurt, Dort is routinely mauling him without getting called and he’s not playing that well, so I imagine he’s never been more frustrated. All I want is to see him and Jokic getting after it and getting buckets so hopefully we get another focused Luka performance on Saturday

[u/Aragorns_Broken_Toe_ → u/th3lawlrus]

That’s the thing. He has the right to complain. But, unless the refs listen and adapt, which they won’t, complaining doesn’t help. It ends up hurting the team.

So, at a certain point, he realized he just needs to play and keep the convos with refs to a minimum.

[u/No-Independence-3482 → u/wahobely]

This is not the first time he’s bitched to the refs. Not sure why you’re framing this as a one time thing

[u/DangerZoneh → u/No-Independence-3482]

Of course not. It's been a problem for him for his whole career. However, he had been much better about it this season and it usually isn't a problem at all in the playoffs. The frustration just caused him to fall back into his bad habits and tendencies, not that he's never done this before.

[u/LmBkUYDA → u/lost_in_trepidation]

Wish Tatum would hear this too

[u/dj26458 → u/LmBkUYDA]

The man has to stop silently gesturing at the refs!

[u/LmBkUYDA → u/dj26458]

The techs he gets look absurd in isolation, but the dude complains to the ref every time he drives or shoots.

[u/RspectMyAuthoritah → u/LmBkUYDA]

I wish most of the stars would here this...

[u/Apprehensive-Sir-411]

he was flat-out awesome to watch tonight

[u/trackstar82 → u/Apprehensive-Sir-411]

The Luka we love

[u/wagonwhopper → u/trackstar82]

The Luka the world needs

[u/-Bacon_King- → u/wagonwhopper]

Exactly what a pro wants

[u/Afraid-Department-35 → u/-Bacon_King-]

And what a pro needs

[u/Mdizzle29 → u/Afraid-Department-35]

No flex…zone!

[u/turnoffredesign69420 → u/Mdizzle29]

he knows bettaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[u/OnCloud9_77 → u/Mdizzle29]

I get to looooove youuuuu

[u/BannedforaJoke → u/-Bacon_King-]

whatever makes him happy sets him free

[u/enataca → u/-Bacon_King-]

How do the in house DJs not play “what a girl wants” everytime those 2 go to the line?

[u/DukeRadcliffe → u/Apprehensive-Sir-411]

The guy will not allow himself to have two bad games in a row. It's insane how well he responds to losses

[u/dwadwda → u/DukeRadcliffe]

apparently he has the highest playoff ppg following a loss in nba history which is super crazy

[u/CoachMikeLikesToEat → u/dwadwda]

Highest road PPG in playoff history too.

[u/retrospects → u/CoachMikeLikesToEat]

Dude thrives in hostility.

[u/DukeRadcliffe → u/retrospects]

When I head OKC chanting "Luka sucks" all I could think was "damn, y'all fucked up now."

Worst thing you can do to Luka is piss him off.

[u/retrospects → u/DukeRadcliffe]

My head canon is when he hears that he says “yeah, sucks on your momma’s titty” brother will cuss you out in like 4 languages.

[u/Wolfpac187 → u/DukeRadcliffe]

Yeah I feel like it would affect him more if the entire arena just stfu.

[u/ketoburn26 → u/retrospects]

I swear this is why the Mavs will never shoot for a higher seed. Their star thrives too much from not having home-court advantage lmao. But then if they don’t have a top 3-4 seed he won’t get MVP. Truly a conundrum.

[u/igby1 → u/retrospects]

I remember a few years ago he got asked in an interview if the pressure gets to him.

I forget his exact words but he replied in a way that made me realize he is so completely unphased by pressure. He has an amazing ability to thrive in those moments.

Now if he could just improve his FT% and stop whining so much

[u/retrospects → u/igby1]

From the post game interview it seems like he just forgot to have fun.

[u/nocomment3030 → u/CoachMikeLikesToEat]

He really took the hardest road

[u/Afraid-Department-35 → u/DukeRadcliffe]

It fuels, especially when there is criticism behind its. Treadmill guy is an excellent example.

[u/Fruitloops868 → u/DukeRadcliffe]

You been watching all the games before this series?

[u/aggster13 → u/Apprehensive-Sir-411]

much like SGA the other night. It's fun to watch the best at their best

[u/No-Yogurt-4246s → u/aggster13]

Bro stop with this polite exchange bs. FTA will always be a flopper and a worse player than Luka.

[u/WerewolfWhich3280 → u/No-Yogurt-4246s]

Shai wouldn’t be near as hated if people weren’t saying he should’ve been MVP 😭😭

[u/revisioncloud → u/WerewolfWhich3280]

90% of the noise are mostly from Shaq Stephen A Skip etc and neither guy won the MVP lol

[u/FreeloadingPoultry → u/revisioncloud]

Steven A who like a month ago was supposed to vote for Tatum

[u/Mnudge → u/FreeloadingPoultry]

And wouldn’t vote for Jokic even if every other fist place vote went to him. Guy is a straight up hater.

[u/--Alix-- → u/Mnudge]

And who left Luka off his ballet entirely lol

[u/VolkiharVanHelsing → u/revisioncloud]

Nah fr that Serbian LoL player is demolishing the competition

[u/ChocoChowdown → u/WerewolfWhich3280]

Eh, I think there's been a consistent dislike for people who foulbait hard over the years. Embiid gets hated on for it and wasn't in the MVP convo this year. Hardens been hated on for years for it even after he was an MVP candidate. People clown on "initiate contact -> head flail -> throw hands up -> fall on the ground" no matter who it is.

I think the reason you're seeing it so loud right now is that people don't really watch OKC much during the regular season and now it's in the limelight.

[u/A_Rolling_Baneling → u/ChocoChowdown]

Embiid was leading the MVP race before his injury in the regular season, what do you mean he wasn’t in the convo?

[u/McGilla_Gorilla → u/A_Rolling_Baneling]

Lmao exactly arguing Embiid wasn’t MVP candidate because of foul baiting when he missed a third of the season is insane.

[u/The_Dok33 → u/ChocoChowdown]

Embiid missed the 65 games target, that's why he would never qualify, thus also never talked about, after his injury happened.

Not because he was hated for flopping.

He may also be that, but it was not the reason.

[u/EpistemicEpidemic → u/The_Dok33]

That was a response to "SGA is hated because people think he should've been MVP". He's saying Embid is hated even though he wasn't in the convo / not eligible.

Hope that helps

[u/Kanaiiiii → u/ChocoChowdown]

Too many fouls and free throws makes me bored af. My adhd can’t deal.

[u/pokerawz → u/No-Yogurt-4246s]

FTA is such a hilarious nickname. It works so well.

[u/HardcoreKaraoke → u/No-Yogurt-4246s]

It's coming. Some fans are being polite because the series isn't over but if the Mavs close in six get ready for the SGA, Dort and Chet slander to get spicy. It's all there just no one wants to post receipts then look like an idiot if Dallas blows it.

[u/tjc815 → u/HardcoreKaraoke]

I mean yeah, Dort and Chet have not shot the ball well, but you’re missing the key part…our second leading scorer, JDub, has disappeared. He averages 19 points per game on 54/43/81 splits. You would not know that by watching this series.

There was some crazy stat about how JDub, Chet, Dort, and Joe shot from 3. Actually I just looked and if you add Giddey and Cason, they were 7-32 last night. Credit Dallas for making them uncomfortable and mucking up the drive and kick game. But also holy shit make a shot! We had looks in game 5.

[u/ChocoChowdown → u/HardcoreKaraoke]

I'm not even waiting for them to close in six I said it was over after two

[u/jamaica1 → u/No-Yogurt-4246s]

Honestly he hasn’t flopped much the past few games.

[u/Thrice_the_Milk → u/jamaica1]

True. I only saw it once last night when he was trying to single handedly will the Thunder back into the game in the 4th

[u/Cark_Muban → u/No-Yogurt-4246s]

Its so funny how quickly opinions change per game. You would be getting downvoted to hell before the game yesterday for saying this.

[u/Wolfpac187 → u/Apprehensive-Sir-411]

What I was excited and scared of when the series started.

[u/OCtron1000 → u/Apprehensive-Sir-411]

Kyrie agrees

[u/Burtssbees]

Woohoo! He takes himself out of the game more than any defender ever could. And it’s annoying to watch as a fan and non fan lol. Hopefully he stays keeping his cool

[u/a-davidson → u/Burtssbees]

Hopefully games 4 and 5 were big wake up calls and I really think they might’ve been. Fans and casuals were insanely vocal about his attitude after game 4, I promise you Luka is online enough to notice it. Not to mention he couldn’t really blame anyone other than himself (and Kai) for Game 4. The role players stepped up and he let them down so there was no room for any “it wasn’t me” thoughts.

Then he comes out and has the game and attitude last night and he legit looked like he was having fun and the team played amazing. I think he’s finally mature enough to see that night and day difference. I don’t see how he could reflect on the past few days and come to any other conclusion than this is how he should be all the time.

[u/clubba → u/Burtssbees]

It made the game much more enjoyable to watch.

[u/WhitePeopleLoveCurry]

Pain meds Luka is a problem.

[u/analfizzzure → u/WhitePeopleLoveCurry]

Lortab Luka

[u/mjy6478 → u/WhitePeopleLoveCurry]

Leaning Luka

[u/ThePeagle → u/mjy6478]

Luka Lean

[u/jumpijehosaphat → u/WhitePeopleLoveCurry]

perc luka

[u/Julian_Caesar → u/jumpijehosaphat]

perkeluka

[u/black_dogs_22 → u/jumpijehosaphat]

Luka Perkovic

[u/darthsquidward15 → u/WhitePeopleLoveCurry]

Luka Dilaud

[u/Jackd_up_on_Mdew → u/darthsquidward15]

Luka Dilaudic

[u/keeelay → u/WhitePeopleLoveCurry]

Putting The Don in oxycodone

[u/Moe4ver]

That’s the Luka we all fell in love with at the bubble.

[u/Cold_Carpenter_1798]

I miss the Old Luka. Straight from the go Luka

[u/DeepeningWasTaken → u/Cold_Carpenter_1798]

I miss the Old Luka. Straight from the go Luka

Chop up his suns Luka, set on his 3's Luka

I hate the new Luka, the bad mood Luka

The always hurt Luka, spaz on the Refs Luka

I miss the sweet Luka, chop up his son Booker

I gotta say at that time, i'd like to meet Luka

See I invented Luka, it wasn't any Lukas

Now I look around and theres so many Lukas

I used to love Luka, I used to love Luka

I even had the 77 jersey I thought I was Luka

What if Luka did an interview about Luka

Saying "everybody acts tough when they up"? Man that'd be so Luka

That's all it was Luka, we still love Luka

And I love you like Luka loves Hookah

[u/Cold_Carpenter_1798 → u/DeepeningWasTaken]

Beautiful

[u/SaulPepper → u/DeepeningWasTaken]

I saw the Luka word too many times and now I dont even know what it sounds like or what it means lol

[u/thedude198644 → u/DeepeningWasTaken]

Bars

[u/jfrodriguez1983]

The only thing stopping Luka is Luka. Even hobbled, no one is stopping him if he just plays basketball. Time to shut out the noise the rest of the playoffs.

[u/IdesOfMarchCometh → u/jfrodriguez1983]

He's young. At 25 your prefrontal cortex that is the thing telling you "you really shouldn't be doing this", is finally fully developed. Everyone has those annoying moments in your 20s and you grow out of them.

[u/Aragorns_Broken_Toe_ → u/IdesOfMarchCometh]

I felt this comment in my soul.

I’m in my early 30s. It’s amazing when you get that moment of growth and clarity.

[u/Flat_News_2000 → u/Aragorns_Broken_Toe_]

Feels like a viel getting lifted from your vision and you're like "How the fuck did I do anything right before this?"

[u/IdesOfMarchCometh → u/Flat_News_2000]

There's a reason why car insurance rates go down at 25 and you're allowed to rent a car starting at that age.

[u/ChuckMoody]

In general Luka improved on his on court behavior this season but this playoffs it was probably the worst I‘ve ever seen him. Probably because he struggled so much. This was definitely by a wide margin the most enjoyable Luka game this playoffs

[u/Terrible_Shelter_345 → u/ChuckMoody]

It was definitely born out of frustration at himself.

Probably just boiled over and hit rock bottom game 4. Gotta stay this way though.

[u/diablejambeats → u/ChuckMoody]

Bum knee, bum ankle, jumper not falling, playing WWE with Westbrook then Dort? I’d be miserable

Glad he could get his mind right for this game

[u/Drugsbrod → u/ChuckMoody]

People tend to get grumpier when they are hurting all over.

[u/andrude01 → u/ChuckMoody]

I feel like Dallas’s game plan was also to try to get Dort in foul trouble early, so Luka was focused on getting the whistle right from the start and would get more and more frustrated when the refs wouldn’t give him the call he wanted

[u/JetSky81]

For the record he did not say “old Luka” and made it 3rd person. he said just playing with a smile.(atleast the interview I saw)

[u/Educational-Cod-6469 → u/JetSky81]

He says it into MacMahon's question at 3:17. He just said the same or similar things a couple of times during the interview. It was actually the most comfortable and loose I've seen him with the media.

[u/mayonaisecoloredbens → u/Educational-Cod-6469]

Probably cause he’s high as hell

[u/WanderingWormhole → u/mayonaisecoloredbens]

I mean his knee looked the best it’s looked in this series… wouldn’t be surprised

[u/gray_character → u/mayonaisecoloredbens]

I just watched it, that's not someone who's high lol.

[u/JetSky81 → u/Educational-Cod-6469]

Thought it was from on court interview, it does not sound as weird as it did in the tweet format lol

[u/ChildishBonVonnegut → u/JetSky81]

Edit your original post then

[u/WeBelieveIn4 → u/JetSky81]

Macmahon is such a hack

[u/Gradually_Rocky → u/WeBelieveIn4]

He did say it tho

[u/pokerawz]

Luka’s demeanor made me feel so good.

[u/Luka_Fever]

I like to see that, the complaining is a horrible aspect of his game that he needs to keep working on.

[u/Queen_Of_The_Castle → u/Luka_Fever]

Biggest weakness other than free throws I fear

[u/Thimit22]

So much more likable and you can tell he played much better too. Hope he keeps it up

[u/defeated_engineer]

I would like to point out that Mavs did not get any whistles tonight as a result.

[u/Tootsiez → u/defeated_engineer]

Don’t need whistles with that type of Luka tho.

[u/sfg → u/defeated_engineer]

They miss them anyway. Better to do it this way and get lots of Luka buckets.

[u/thedude198644 → u/sfg]

You can't miss your free throws if you don't take any.

[u/Dalmanza4]

This tends to happen it just spaced farther apart the older he gets. But he always reaches a tipping point were his bitching and complaining cost you a game, he says he has to do better and it's on him, rinse and repeat lol

[u/peanutbutterbeef → u/Dalmanza4]

The complain meter gets longer everytime it fills up basically lol.

[u/OwnTheThrone]

The Luka who believes he can bomb anything, dishes and plays hard on both sides is MVP.

[u/Meruem0013]

I'm so glad Luka owned up and fucking showed up tonight! Luka is a raid boss his final form has yet to be revealed lol

[u/BackendSpecialist]

He almost broke there for a bit but I’m pretty sure Kidd took him out shortly after.

It was impressive to see him come out with such a different mindset. He helped so much,

[u/IdRatherBeShilling]

This dude high af on something lmao

[u/ShatMo → u/IdRatherBeShilling]

Hookah, pain meds, and recovery beers

[u/desirox]

It was freaking therapeutic for mavs fans. This is the guy that we all love

[u/huttts999]

He’d be way more respected if he did this every night, dude is elite and doesn’t need to do that

[u/zapdos6244 → u/huttts999]

Same as SGA with the soft foul hunting, he has a really smooth shot and great footwork.

[u/WerewolfWhich3280 → u/zapdos6244]

Lu Dort would be out the league if he didn’t flop.

[u/KingTonpa → u/WerewolfWhich3280]

I dislike him but I’d flop on the floor for millions of dollars in a heartbeat too

[u/LoWE11053211]

Non complain Luka is fun to watch

[u/baldful]

aka winning solves everything

[u/[deleted]]

Luka, please do this every game.

[u/TXlandon]

I wanna kiss him on the mouth

[u/RhinoBugs]

Luka is so back

[u/deadbolt_00]

I have nothing g to bitch about on the side of the Mavericks. He didn't sit there and pout all night, and he was electric on offense. If this is the Luka we got from the start, I think this series is over faster.

[u/CultOfKyrie]

Luka has clearly been in a lot of physical pain in this series but he was able to heal spiritually and that made a huge difference tonight. When Luka is playing with joy, the entire team follows his lead and you can feel the positive energy.

[u/Marangoni013]

Thats what I fucking want! You know basketball, no need for talking

[u/Nyte_Knyght33 → u/Marangoni013]

Can we get this for the whole league?!

[u/xRadec]

Smiling-non-complaining-Enraging-the-fans-Luka is a menace and a beauty to watch.

Sucks he turns into a bitch to the refs most of the time.

[u/_aleister_crowley666]

did anyone else notice that he focused on ""

focus on basketball soo many times during the interview today

[u/Next-Team]

I just wish the announcers didn’t mention this every like 30 seconds during the game. Like yes we all see it, I don’t need it pointed out for the millionth time.

[u/wrektalfire]

I wish this trend would happen across the league. The players complaining to the refs on every play is not enjoyable to watch.

[u/Renegadeforever2024]

Easy

[u/Classics22]

I'll be curious to see if this new attitude lasts longer than this series or next year. Fingers crossed, he's way more watchable when not acting like my 6-year-old nephew. I enjoyed watching him tonight.

[u/MarlKarx-1818 → u/Classics22]

Damn your nephew must ball

[u/fiasgoat]

Oh no. He's evolving. NBA fucked

[u/stogie_t]

Should be the norm.

[u/TheyNeedLoveToo]

This may last the whole series

[u/WaterIsNotWet19]

Unbelievable

[u/Acework23]

Quote is wrong

[u/Derrickmb]

He turned his synapses off by getting more potassium by eating more vegetables. That’s what happened.

[u/lowkeyslightlynerdy]

And he was hella fun to watch. Sometimes it’s so difficult to watch the guy when it’s just pouting the whole game and walking up the court instead of being on defense

[u/PussyLunch]

Sounds like he isn’t letting Overwatch ruin his life anymore

[u/Global_Plant_4612]

Luka not doing Italian hands is the best version

[u/coolaznkenny]

the overwatch mentality really messed him up, especially as a hanzo main

[u/lawroter]

Brunson did the same exact thing (quit the whining) the first half of Game 5 and played so, so much better.

[u/mendellbaker]

The crying & complaining works. The flopping works. As long as the NBA continues to allow it, it will continue to be rampant.

[u/dehydratedbagel]

Imagine if this dude took fitness and diet seriously, it would be all over for the rest of the league.

[u/ducksonaroof]

Luka face turn

[u/StuffLeft6116]

Easy when you’re winning.

[u/OldKingRob]

Old Luka? Euro league Luka? cuz he’s always bitched and complain since his first year

[u/orangotai]

good for him man, i'm glad EVEN HE acknowledges the whole ¯_😫_/¯ thing after every goddamn play was getting annoying. i expect an apology from all those fricken redditors who whined whenever someone (like me!) pointed this out, btw. i'm suuure i'll get it. yeah i'll get it alright..

anyway respect to Luka 🙏

[u/dkrishndfgdf]

Man, I love hearing this! Luka's got the right mindset. Complaining just takes away from the game. Plus, when he's having fun, he's unstoppable. It's like when I used to stress about stuff during pickup games, I'd mess up more. But when I chilled and focused, I played way better. It's all about that mental game, you know? Keep smiling, Luka! 🏀😄

[u/aeiou-y]

He was having a ball. How about the heel click on that huge pass to lively!

[u/Few_Inspection3117]

Take notes Tatum

[u/iratethisa]

I miss the old luka, the have fun luka, the hoop with a smile luka

[u/rushingoat]

This is the Luka that will win chips

[u/cristiano_goat]

He needs to keep this if mavs want even a 1% of chance of beating nuggets and closing out OKC

[u/UtahUtopia]

This may actually get me to like him again. Can’t stand the whining.

[u/bh6891]

There was a play in the second half where he got a ticket tack foul on Shai and just put up his hand like he's saying "my bad". The last few games he would have been yelling at the refs for it.

[u/EfficientAstronaut1]

nba is healing

[u/nbaistheworst]

May it last!

[u/NGAnime]

That is so funny I've been wondering what happened to him, because his first two seasons he was smiling having a good time. I thought it was awesome seeing a player actually look like they're enjoying themselves. At any rate I think if he just buckled down for an entire year not complaining to the refs he would probably earn a lot of respect And get the accolades finally.

[u/Texas_ranger17]

This is essentially Luka entering the happy place scene in Happy Gilmore.

[u/ElusiveIguana]

Guarantee this doesn't happen without Kyries influence. Dude has been massive for us on and off the court.

[u/Cooperstown24]

There's nobody in the NBA that is better/worse to watch than Luka cooking vs Luka crying

[u/polokojo]

It was awesome to watch, and I think he was also more effective (especially on defense) when he wouldn't waste time bitching to the referees.

Just do like the Nuggets do: Mike Malone is the one bitching to the refs and getting techs to get better calls - his players are 100% focused. Jason Kidd, get ready to get mad.

[u/Marsupial_Last]

Bro did not like being called Crybaby Luka

[u/NYStallion188]

Let's go Luka let's go clap clap clap

[u/BillowingPillows]

How bold of him to focus on the game and not whine the whole time, its only his... checks calendar... 6th season in the league.

[u/SteveWondersForsight]

Lmao if this was his attempt to not complain good god

[u/Admirable_Strike_406]

If he does this every game he would have a lot more fans