Ex-Mavs majority owner Mark Cuban revisits noise around 2001 shirtless pic: “Old school NBA owners were not happy”
Mark Cuban might no longer be the majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks but he is definitely the most well-known. In fact, he is one of the most famous sports franchise owners in North American sports. When Cuban spent $285 million on the Mavericks in January 2000, he became the majority owner of the team.
As Cuban celebrated his 66th birthday on Wednesday, a topless picture of him went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter. The American business and television personality was seen draped in only a towel and holding a basketball in what looked like the Dallas Mavericks locker room.
The photo, which was originally captured in 2001, caught the eye of Mark Cuban, and he re-quoted it:
“I owned the Mavs about a year when I did this. The old school NBA owners were not happy. They had no idea...”
As expressed by Cuban, the old brass of NBA owners allegedly didn’t like the manner in which he posed. Back then, NBA owners were usually known for staying out of the limelight and influencing team decisions in the background. That, however, changed with the coming of owners such as Cuban and the LA Clippers’ majority owner Steve Ballmer.
NBA owners are no longer happy just calling the shots in boardrooms. They are often seen courtside cheering for their teams and being loud in the face of their opponents.
When Mark Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks, the team had won just 40% of its games in the past two decades and were 21-32 in the playoffs. His leadership, alongside Dirk Nowitzki’s legendary play, brought a much-needed change as Dallas won its only NBA title in 2011.
The Cuban era also saw the team acquire Luka Doncic, who led the team to the 2024 NBA Finals.
Mark Cuban remains in control of Mavericks basketball operations
Despite giving up on his majority ownership for $3.5 billion in the summer of 2023, Mark Cuban retained the control of basketball operations. This was highly unusual as he now owns just 27% of the team, making him a minority owner.
Cuban spoke to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth about why he decided to sell the team to Miriam Adelson:
“It’s a partnership. They’re not basketball people. I’m not real estate people. That’s why I did it. I could have gotten more money from somebody else. I’ve known these guys for a long time. They’re great at the things I’m not good at.”
Cuban also hopes to partner with the Adelson family and build a casino and a new arena.