“Said It in Slovenian”: Luka Doncic, En Route to His 49 Points, Claims to Have Called ‘Bank’ on His Game Winner to His Former Mavs Teammate

Luka Doncic stunned everyone in the league with a 49-point performance in the Dallas Mavericks’ recent matchup against the Brooklyn Nets. If his points tally wasn’t enough, the Slovenian put the icing on the cake by hitting the game-winning buzzer-beater against the Nets. Interestingly, Doncic found an epic way to troll his former Mavs teammate Dorian Finney-Smith by reportedly shouting ‘bank’ after hitting the shot.

Doncic’s hook-shot backboard three considerably helped the Mavericks gain the lead at the end of the fourth quarter. However, Finney-Smith didn’t hear Doncic’s ‘bank’ call, as he later told the media. Quite cheekily, Doncic had a response ready for the occasion.

Luka Doncic called ‘bank’ on his game-winning three-point shot against former teammate Dorian Finney-Smith

Luka Doncic had a phenomenal game against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. The Slovenian dropped 49 points against the Nets to seal a remarkable 125-120 win for the Dallas Mavericks. One of the best highlights en route to his 49-point performance was a game-winning hook-shot, backboard three-pointer, which gave the Mavs a much-needed lead towards the end of the fourth quarter.

Interestingly, Doncic was facing his former Dallas teammate Dorian Finney-Smith, who was traded alongside Spencer Dinwiddie to the Nets in February this year. While pulling his game-winner shot, Doncic claimed to have called ‘bank’ on it in front of Finney-Smith.

Though the Nets star initially denied Luka ever making such calls, Doncic later confirmed in the post-game conference that he said it in Slovenian and that’s why his former teammate did not understand the call:

“I said it in Slovenian so he wouldn’t understand.” 

Here is a clip from the press conference, uploaded by Landon Thomas on X.

Luka Dončić said he called bank on the hook shot backboard three at the end of the 4th to take the lead against the Nets…

On Dorian Finney-Smith saying he didn’t call bank: “I said it in Slovenian so he wouldn’t understand.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/Xtg9Fxnz1I

— Landon Thomas (@sixfivelando) October 28, 2023

Indeed, Luka Doncic has again entered the MVP conversations after such a phenomenal performance in just the second game of the season. Previously, in the season opener against the San Antonio Spurs, the Slovenian impressed fans with a triple-double performance, scoring 33 points, ten assists, and 13 rebounds in the game.

If Luka Doncic continues performing the way he is currently doing, then the Mavs have a good chance of finding a top playoff seed for this season.

Doncic misses having Dorian Finney-Smith as his teammate

Luka Doncic’s phenomenal final three-pointer was something rarely seen in the league. During his post-game interview, Doncic admitted to having worked on his backboard shot that gave Dallas their incredible game-winner on Friday night. The 24-year-old even named coach Daryl Armstrong and God Shammgod as witnesses to him working on perfecting such a shot.

“I work on that. Ask Sham and DA. That’s a question for them. I work off the backboard. Ask them. I called bank. They know its bank so Shamgod and DA, they know it’s a bank.”

A few (funny) postgame words with the man of the hour! #MFFL | @skinwade | @luka7doncic | @dallasmavs on @ballysportssw 📺 pic.twitter.com/Z4TZkjCD11

— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) October 28, 2023

Though Doncic pulled the bank shot against his former teammate Dorian Finney-Smith, there isn’t any bad blood between the players now that they are rivals in the league. In fact, Doncic misses playing with his former teammate.