$55,560,960 wing publicly admits to Dallas Mavericks tanking to land Luka Doncic in 2018

LA Lakers superstar guard Luka Doncic showed out during Wednesday's 112-97 road victory over his ex-team, the Dallas Mavericks. Afterward, Lakers wing Dorian Finney-Smith reflected on Doncic's career journey, acknowledging that the Mavericks tanked during the 2017-18 season to secure his services.

In what marked his first return to Dallas since being traded to LA in a stunning three-team Feb. 2 blockbuster deal, Doncic thrived offensively. Following an emotional pregame video tribute, he tallied a game-high 45 points, eight rebounds, six assists, four steals and seven 3-pointers, shooting 16-for-28 (57.1%).

The five-time All-Star's standout play earned him raucous cheers from Mavericks fans, who supported him throughout his six and a half seasons with the franchise.

Like Doncic, Finney-Smith spent six-plus campaigns with Dallas, including four and a half seasons alongside Doncic. Thus, he witnessed Doncic develop from a Slovenian prodigy into one of the league's preeminent offensive players.

During his postgame interview, Finney-Smith, in the third year of a four-year $55,560,960 contract with the Lakers, noted that the Mavericks tanked the 2017-18 campaign. According to the nine-year veteran, that set the stage for Doncic to put the organization back on the map.

"Well deserved. ... I was sitting in that locker room when we were struggling, I would say tanking to get him," Finney-Smith said.

"And I saw the transformation back into being a winning culture due to him. Obviously, I'd say I had a little part in that, but Luka being Luka, he brought the excitement back to Dallas."

Dallas finished the 2017-18 season with a 24-58 record, landing the No. 5 pick in the 2018 NBA draft. It ultimately traded up to No. 3 to acquire Doncic from the Atlanta Hawks. In return, it surrendered its No. 5 pick (Trae Young) and a 2019 first-round pick (No. 10, Cam Reddish).

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Mark Cuban was fined 600K for admitting to tanking ahead of drafting Luka Doncic

Dorian Finney-Smith's comments align with then-Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban's remarks about tanking during the 2017-18 campaign.

On the "House Call with Dr. J" podcast on Feb. 18, 2018, Cuban recounted encouraging his team to tank the remainder of the season.

"I'm probably not supposed to say this, but I just had dinner with a bunch of our guys the other night. ... I was like, 'Look, losing is our best option,'" Cuban said.

"(NBA commissioner) Adam (Silver) would hate hearing that, but I at least sat down and I explained it to them. And I explained what our plans were going to be this summer, that we're not going to tank again."

A few days later, the NBA fined Cuban $600,000 for openly discussing tanking. Nevertheless, the strategy seemingly paid off, allowing the Mavericks to acquire Luka Doncic and reach last year's NBA Finals, their first finals appearance since 2011.

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