Luka Doncic scored 49 points and grabbed 15 rebound as the Mavericks defeated the Pelicans 125-118. (1:45)
Cuban credited Luka Doncic with his recent dominance in part to the 22-year-old superstar's reaction to criticism regarding his conditioning early in the season.
Cuban said during an appearance on 1310 The Ticket in Dallas that he was "humbled a little bit" by being called out for his weight.
All athletes at his level go through it at some point, where things are easy and you are used to being the best. It makes you reconsider when something doesn't go according to plan.
Doncic acknowledged in early December that his conditioning needed to get back on track, and that he relaxed in the weeks between the Olympics run and reporting to Dallas for training camp. According to sources, Doncic weighed more than 260 pounds for the second year in a row.
According to sources, Doncic has dropped more than 15 pounds to get close to his weight.
He returned to All-NBA form after a slow start to the season.
In his first 21 games of the season, Doncic averaged 25.6 points, 8 rebounds and 8.5 assists with a minus-5.5 net rating, proof of his lackluster defensive performance. He worked on his conditioning and rested for three weeks to recover from his ankle injury.
In the 23 games since the layoff, Doncic has averaged 29.3 points, 10.3 rebound and 9.4 assists with a plus-13 net rating, which is evidence of his drastic defensive improvement. Since it was revealed that he didn't receive any media votes to be an All-Star starter, Doncic has averaged 35.4 points, 10.3 rebound and 9.8 assists in 10 games.
Cuban said that if he is going to be the best, he has to control certain things.
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