Mark Cuban is one of the most involved owners in the NBA. He purchased the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for $285 Million. Six weeks after attending his first Mavs game, Cuban thought he could do better as an owner, and so he put a bid on the team.
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During his time as an owner, not only has Cuban helped the Mavericks win a title, but he also helped their marketability and more. Not only did he help the Mavericks grow their value to $3.3 Billion, but that also helped him boost his net worth to $5.1 Billion.
One of the best things to happen to Cuban was having Dirk Nowitzki on the team when he purchased it. We don’t need to introduce the great Dirk Nowitzki. His legacy speaks for itself. The smartest thing Cuban did was never letting Dirk go, and well, that earned them their sole NBA Championship.
Recently, Mark Cuban was talking to Rachel A. Demita, when he discussed how he holds a feat over Dirk’s head.
Mark Cuban holds a winning one-on-one record over Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki is actually the first player in the NBA to be titled a unicorn. A 7-footer who could shoot the ball well and had range, as well as the ability to crash the paint and the boards. There is a reason he’s known as the great he is, and is about to be inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Recently Mark Cuban was with Rachel Demita, the former NBA 2K host. She uploaded a video on Instagram with the Mavs’ owner, where she asked him if he gets shots up with the guys. Cuban said he shoots sometimes when they’re done with their workouts. Then he started to narrate how he used to play one on one with Dirk.
“First two weeks I bought the team, I used to play one-on-one with Dirk[Nowitzki]. I went by him and scored twice, and then he stopped me and one move and dunked. I quit, so officially, I’m 1 and 0 against Dirk.”
He then went to talk about the moment everyone knew how special Nowitzki was. It was the 2001 Playoffs, when Dirk showed up and led the Mavs to the 2nd round. Mark applauded his ability to get 30-20 on any given night with ease.
Have Cuban and the Mavericks given up?
Yesterday, the Mavericks all but waived the white flag on their season. Playing a must-win game against the Bulls, the Mavs rested 4 key players, including Kyrie Irving. They then took Luka Doncic out right after the first quarter. Even with the game being just a 3-point game, the team did not insert Luka back to win it for them.
While we all saw the clip of Cuban smirking, people are assuming this tank job is to secure the Top-10 seed in the upcoming draft. They might be hoping for someone like Dirk to make their way back to the team and help them solve their big-man problems. However, their move might end up costing them a lot, as the league is now investigating their decision to rest players in such a key matchup.
