"This one smells like winning ... sorry Mark" - Shark Tank contestant takes shot at Mark Cuban after miserable end to Dallas Mavericks' season
In an episode of ABC's "Shark Tank," two contestants included a marketing joke in their pitch as a friendly banter to one of the judges, Mark Cuban.
The contestants were pitching their air freshener for cars and included one that had the design of the Golden State Warriors. The contestant said:
"This one smells like winning ... sorry Mark"
Mark Cuban, being the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, didn't take the joke lightly during the segment as he didn't mince words with his response. Cuban said:
"Dumbest marketing move ever, I'm out. Seriously, seriously, you got to read the room. Wrong move, wrong time. The one air freshener from the NBA is the team that beats us in the NBA conference finals, gotta know that could backfire. Yeah, I could be [the bigger man] but I'm not."
During the Western Conference Finals matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks, the Warriors finished the series in five games.
Mark Cuban's team, the Mavericks, were fresh off eliminating the number one seed, the Phoenix Suns. They were only the fourth seed during that postseason run but ran into a hungry Warriors team.
The Warriors won the first three games before Dallas finally secured a win in Game 4. Golden State handled their business in Game 6 with a 120-110 victory. After an upset series victory against the Suns, the Mavericks couldn't continue to ride off of that momentum into the third round series.
Based on Mark Cuban's reaction to the joke, it can be seen that the Mavericks' owner hasn't completely moved on from the bitter loss.
Luka Doncic averaged an impressive statline of 32.0 points (41.5% shooting, including 34.0% from 3-point range), 9.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists. But despite that statline, the Warriors were just too much to handle for the Mavericks.
Mark Cuban is considered to be one of the most competitive team owners in the NBA when it comes to his Dallas Mavericks. It also makes sense considering how close they were to the finals during that run.
Looking back on Mark Cuban's protest to the NBA after a missed call in the Warriors and Mavericks game
On March 22, in a home game against the Golden State Warriors, there was an officiating confusion which resulted in a free basket for the Warriors.
At 1:56 in the third quarter, the Mavericks thought they had possession of the ball as they were lined up at the other end of the court. Warriors' Kevon Looney got a free dunk at the other end as there was no defense to contest the shot.
Mark Cuban went to Twitter to send out a tweet, detailing the situation:
"During the time out the official changed the call and never told us. Then when they saw us line up as if it were our ball, he just gave the ball to the warriors. Never said a word to us. They got an easy basketball. Crazy that it would matter in a 2 point game."
Cuban protested the call after the game but got denied by the NBA as they stated there was not enough evidence to support his claims.