"Add this to your playlist"- Mark Cuban endorses Luka Doncic tribute song "Halleluka" as Slovenian braces for debut finals berth
Dallas Mavericks co-owner Mark Cuban endorsed the Luka Doncic tribute song "Halleluka" after the team defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves to advance to the NBA finals led by the Slovenian star. Cuban took to X (formerly Twitter) to reshare the song and endorse it ahead of the upcoming NBA Finals.
"Add this to your playlist," Cuban tweeted.
"Halleluka" is a play on Leonard Cohen's classic "Hallelujah" and was written by The Ringer's Jason Gallagher. The Doncic tribute song was originally performed by Isaac Lee during halftime of a Mavericks matchup against the Houston Rockets in the American Airlines Center on Dec. 8, 2018.
Remarkably, in that 2018 game, Luka Doncic went on an 11-point run late in the fourth quarter to ignite the Mavericks comeback run from down 102-94 to win the game 107-105. Though the Mavericks' star wouldn't credit his performance to the "Halleluka" performance earlier on, he did own the song later on.
“It’s amazing (that) people come up with the idea to make my song,” Doncic said in the postgame interview on the court.
Doncic had retweeted the song when The Ringer first published it on Nov. 27, 2018, and captioned it "my song" to make it official.
Luka Doncic unanimously wins WCF Magic Johnson MVP Award
With yet another spectacular performance, Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-103 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals to advance to the NBA finals.
Doncic was declared the unanimous winner of the WCF Magic Johnson MVP award after his 36-point outing on Thursday, including 20 points in the first quarter, which decided the fate of the game early on.
Doncic winning the MVP was a reward for his exploits; however, the Mavericks advancing to the NBA Finals is the outcome of their collective effort. On winning the award, the unanimous WCF MVP credited the honor to his whole team.
"This trophy is the whole team man, it’s not me," Doncic said. "This means a lot, we’re going to NBA Finals, just can’t believe it."
Luka Doncic consistently led the Mavericks in their efforts in the conference finals. The five-time NBA All-Star averaged 32.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.2 steals in the conference finals while shooting 47.3% from the field, including 43.4% from beyond the arc.
The Dallas Mavericks will feature in the NBA Finals after 13 years since they previously clinched the title in 2011 against the Miami Heat. The upcoming NBA Finals will be Luka Doncic's debut in the final stage after playing six years in the league.
The Mavericks will need their star player to maintain his efficiency or exceed it, as they take on the Boston Celtics for Game 1 of the NBA Finals next week.