After Mark Cuban bought the Mavericks for $285 million in 2001, he completely transformed the team’s fortunes. They went from being the NBA’s laughingstock to one of its most consistent and competitive franchises. The overnight transformation happened due to his attention to detail. He fixed everything from the players’ hotel accommodations to the training facilities and the coaching staff. He even revamped the team’s eating habits to ensure they were in optimal shape.
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In an interview with GQ Sports, Cuban revealed how he took it upon himself to change the team’s culture when he bought it. He listened to complaints from Gary Trent and Dirk Nowitzki and realized that the previous owners had cut costs, leaving players to look after themselves while on the road. That led to players adopting poor eating habits, which he changed. Cuban said,
“There was a guy by the name Gary Trent and he was like, ‘Mark, we get into some towns after a game at 2, 3, 4 in the morning. Have you ever tried to go get something to eat in Oakland at 3 in the morning?’ We upgraded immediately. We stayed at nothing but the best hotels. We made sure they had not only room service but healthy foods. We brought in nutritionists. Dirk Nowirzki used to say that he would eat chips and candy bars before a game. We gave him the opportunity to be healthy.”
Cuban’s efforts paid dividends. The Mavericks’ win total rose by 13 in their first full season under Cuban’s ownership. They ended their ten-year playoff hiatus and finished with over 50 wins for the first time in 13 seasons.
No player on the roster benefited more from Cuban buying the team than Dirk Nowitzki. He finally had an owner who cared about ensuring his every need was taken of, including his diet. While he only changed his eating habits slightly when the tech billionaire bought the team, he completely revamped it about six years later and became one of the best players in the league.
Dirk Nowitzki’s dietary habits
In an interview with Graham Bensinger, Nowitzki revealed that in his late 20s, he realized he wasn’t in optimal shape because he wasn’t eating right. He addressed that issue in 2007 and experienced a drastic change. He said,
“I completely changed my diet when I was about 27-28. It was amazing… Cut out sugar, no sodas, no desserts during the season. Barely any alcohol, maybe round the All-Star break now and then, but usually my last 10 years didn’t drink during the season, cut out all the red meat, it was pretty strict for the last 10-12 years of my career.”
Nowitzki felt better, so he played better. In 2007, around a year after his dietary renaissance, he was named the league MVP. He’d go on to lead the Mavericks to their only title win in 2011 and played until 2019, before calling it a day on his Hall of Fame career.
The German is the greatest overseas player in NBA history. However, he likely wouldn’t have earned that distinction without Mark Cuban nudging him in the right direction.
