Update:
This story was originally published on June 1, 2017.
10 things to know about Mark Cuban, including a Vegas vision for Mavs, Shark Tank and more
Cuban is selling a majority interest in the Mavericks franchise to Miriam Adelson after nearly 23 years owning the team.
After nearly 24 years with the Mavericks, governor Mark Cuban sold a majority interest in the franchise to Miriam Adelson, the widow of Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
Cuban, 66, has maintained operational control, even though Adelson, 78, and her family would own a greater than 50% stake, a person familiar with negotiations confirmed to The Dallas Morning News.
Cuban has made plenty of headlines over his two-plus decades as the team’s governor. Here are 10 things to know about Cuban.
1. He’s an actor
You might have seen the Dallas Mavericks owner in Sharknado 3 as the president of the United States. He’s also appeared in multiple TV series, including Entourage, The League, and he was even in two episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger. He’s also been featured on The Simpsons, Billions, Good Burger 2 and Adam Sandler’s basketball movie Hustle.
2. He made the Guinness Book of World Records
Ever get on the Internet and go on a shopping spree? Ever drop $40 million on one transaction on the web?
That’s what Mark Cuban did in 1999 for a Gulfstream V business jet. It’s still a world record today for the “largest single e-commerce transaction.” He told The Wall Street Journal in 2010 that the jet had helped him so much there were “too many examples to count.”
3. He once worked a day at Dairy Queen
In 2002, Cuban was very critical of the NBA’s head of officiating Ed Rush.
“Ed Rush might have been a great ref, but I wouldn’t hire him to manage a Dairy Queen,” Cuban said. “His interest is not in the integrity of the game or improving the officiating.”
The chain offered Cuban a chance to work for them for one day and he obliged. More than 1,000 people went to see Cuban in Coppell that day and the restaurant apparently ran out of ice.
Remember that list of fines? Cuban was hit with a then-record $500,000 fine for his comments about Rush.
4. Long run on Shark Tank
After his 16th season on Shark Tank, Cuban is poised to tell the producers: “I’m out.”
Cuban said in an email that he’s stepping away to spend “more time with my kids before they get too old and start ignoring me even more than they do now!”
He discussed his departure on the Showtime podcast All The Smoke with hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
The ABC reality show, wrapping up its 15th season, invites entrepreneurs to pitch products or services to a panel of hosts in hopes of securing an investment.
Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary and Cuban listen and either express interest or tell them they’re “out.”
“I love [the show] because it sends the message the American dream is alive and well,” he said. “I feel like in doing Shark Tank all these years, we’ve trained multiple generations of entrepreneurs that, if somebody can come from Iowa or Sacramento or wherever, and show up on Shark Tank and show their business and get a deal, it’s going to inspire generations of kids.”
Cuban has invested $19.85 million across 85 companies in his time on the show, according to the Shark Tank analysis website Sharkalytics.
5. Mavs sexual harassment scandal
In 2018, Sports Illustrated broke a story about sexual harassment and improper workplace misconduct in the Mavericks’ business operations. That triggered a seven-month investigation, numerous team-executive firings and a rebuke by the NBA for “institutional failures.”
While he was not one of the people in the organization to harass any employees, some blamed Cuban, known as one of sports most involved owners, for letting the misconduct occur under his watch.
Cuban made significant changes following the investigation, including hiring Cynthia Marshall as the Mavs’ new CEO.
One year after the scandal, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the Mavs’ organization had changed its culture.
6. He played college rugby
While attending Indiana University, Cuban was a part of the rugby team. Apparently, his fiery attitude towards officials was no different when he was on the pitch. He told NBC that he was tossed from a game for fighting.
"Well, you know, play doesn't stop. So that's the bigger thing," he said. "Or someone on the other team is going to take care of you. I got kicked out of a game one time. A guy hit me and I had to hit him back. They sent me to the sidelines. Other than that, I was a good sport."
His time at IU was also ... festive. As The Dallas Morning News detailed in 2011, some NSFW photos of Cuban at parties surfaced, and he was okay with that.
“All of these pictures are from old Indiana rugby parties from back in the day, from before and after I played for the team,” Cuban told Deadspin, the site that originally found the photos. “The guys you see in the pictures — and many that aren’t pictured here — are some of the best friends I have had in my life. They always have been and always will be. Playing rugby was a bond for us, and I’m proud that I played.”
Cuban added: “Did we do stupid [expletive] back then? Absolutely. Even then, we knew it was stupid. We also knew it was harmless. We could beat the [expletive] out of each other on the field and know that we would come together afterwards and drink and be stupid and be friends. Anyone who has played the sport will tell you what a beautiful thing it is.”
7. He has a Vegas-like vision for Dallas, new Mavs arena
Cuban has big plans for a new Mavericks arena.
“My goal, and we’d partner with Las Vegas Sands, is when we build a new arena it’ll be in the middle of a resort and casino,” Cuban told The Dallas Morning News in Dec. 2022. “That’s the mission.”
With Adelson, the largest shareholder of the Sands Corp., buying a majority stake in the team while keeping Cuban in charge of basketball operations, it appears he is taking a step closer toward that vision.
One person with knowledge of the deal described it to The News as a synergizing of the Sands’ real estate, entertainment venue and casino gambling prowess with Cuban’s 23-year ownership track record and public clout
Mavericks governor Cuban is not alone in thinking the convergence of athletics and legalized gambling is overdue in the Lone Star State.
Every major sports franchise in Texas is part of the Sports Betting Alliance, formed in 2021 with the objective to legalize and regulate sports betting here — toppling a Texas-sized domino on the path of 31 other states that have sanctioned it.
8. He has tried to buy other sports teams
Cuban's love doesn't stop at the Mavericks. Cuban has tried to become the owner of other sports teams, including the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and even the Pittsburgh Penguins.
He, along with Dan Marino, offered $170 million for the Penguins, but were denied. Sam Fingold ultimately bought the team for $175 million.
9. He’s outspoken about politics
Cuban has never been shy about sharing his opinions on politics.
He was an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and said he voted for now-President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Cuban once again backed Biden in the 2024 election, championing more action on drug costs.
“If they were having his last wake, and it was him versus Trump, and he was being given last rites, I would still vote for Joe Biden,” Cuban said. He called his vote for Nikki Haley in the Texas GOP primary a “protest vote against Trump.”
Once Biden dropped out of the election, giving way to Kamala Harris, Cuban led a group of venture capitalists supporting Harris. The group, made up of names like Cuban, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, billionaire cowboy Chris Sacca and many more is calling itself VCs for Kamala and is pledging to vote for Harris in the upcoming 2024 election.
He became a frequent political commentator, appearing on all manner of TV shows and often teasing the prospect that he might run for the White House. But he wasn’t always so eager to discuss those kinds of issues.
Back in 2012, The News sought to ask Cuban about political giving in the NBA, but he shot down the question.
“There’s no upside and there’s no downside” to commenting, he said then.
10. He’s filed protests with the NBA
Cuban and the Mavericks filed a protest of a controversial call and confusion in their March 22 loss to the Golden State Warriors toward the end of the 2022-23 season. With 1:59 left in the third quarter of a pivotal contest with the Warriors, the Mavericks called timeout after a missed Golden State 3-pointer went out of bounds.
A look at the broadcast replay shows the baseline referee point toward the Mavericks’ bench, giving them the idea they had possession of the ball. This led to confusion on the inbound play, which saw Golden State center Kevon Looney finish off an uncontested dunk.
What made this play anything but routine was that he scored without any defenders in sight. A few seconds after the play, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd and his team tried to discuss the situation with the officiating crew.
The Mavericks ended up losing by a 127-125 score. And Cuban wasted no time as he took to Twitter to air out his frustrations immediately after the final buzzer.
The NBA ultimately denied the Mavs’ protest and did not refund Cuban’s $10,000 fee he paid to protest the game.
But that wasn’t the first time the Mavericks governor protested a game.
Before their Warriors discrepancy, Dallas was also the last team to file a protest, contending the Hawks were incorrectly awarded a basket with 8.4 seconds remaining in a February 2020 loss in Atlanta.
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
ex.co script has been added to the page
