"It's painful" - Mark Cuban gets brutally honest on being ‘hurt’ seeing Luka Doncic’s 40 ppg lead Lakers to red-hot start without LeBron James

Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban had something to say about the new version of LA Lakers star Luka Doncic. In the 2025-26 season, Doncic prepared himself to silence the doubters by getting in shape over the summer. The Lakers have benefited from this, as he has guided the team to a 7-2 start.

The Slovenian star is leading the team, averaging 40 points, 11 rebounds and 9.2 assists. Doncic has challenged himself to perform better and lead the Lakers on the court in LeBron James' absence.

On Friday's episode of "The Stephen A. Smith," Cuban appeared as a guest. The host, Smith, mentioned Doncic's and the Lakers' recent success to the Mavs owner. He wanted to know what he thought about the five-time All-Star dominating while playing for a different team.

"I'm happy for Luka 'cause he's a great guy," Cuban said. "He's just a really special human being, his family's great... it's painful.

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"As a Mavs fan and as somebody who, potentially, if I would've done a better job of just defining my role in advance, [the trade] might not have happened. It hurts me, I know it kills Mavs fans everywhere, but I'm happy for Luka."

Like Cuban, many Mavs fans thought that Doncic would spend his entire NBA career in Dallas, much like Dirk Nowitzki. However, the management had other plans and took everyone by surprise last season, including Mark Cuban. The 6-foot-6 star was traded to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, leaving the basketball world stunned.

The main reason was the front office's doubts about Luka Doncic's lack of physical conditioning. Although he wasn't always in the best physical form, it didn't stop him from averaging 28.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg and 8.3 apg through seven seasons in Dallas.

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Mark Cuban is focused on the Mavericks' new star... Cooper Flagg

With the departure of Doncic, Mark Cuban and the Mavericks have shifted their focus to developing a new NBA star: Cooper Flagg. Dallas used its No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft to select the former Duke star forward.

Flagg has performed well for a first-year NBA player. Although there have been obvious struggles recently, it hasn't stopped Cuban and the Mavs from sending their support. On Tuesday, X published a post comparing the rookie's stats to those of other all-time greats.

It compared the forward to how other players performed in the first six career games. Based on the post, he ranked second, behind LeBron James, beating legends like Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard.

The former Shark Tank cast member gave his seal of approval on X.

"No question. @Cooper_Flagg is the real deal," Mark Cuban posted.

In the first eight games of Flagg's career, he's averaging 14.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg and 2.8 apg. The future is looking bright for the Mavericks.

Edited by Reign Amurao