The ever-growing issue of tanking has taken over the NBA narrative and conversations. Commissioner Adam Silver has made it clear that he plans on implementing a solution to prevent teams from tanking and providing a poor product on the court.
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Then again, tanking has been around in the NBA forever. The league has looked at many different ways to prevent teams from purposely losing over the years, but nothing has completely killed the practice. And teams have found novel ways to circumvent preventive measures, the latest being how they bench star players midway through games in an effort to lose.
The Utah Jazz have become the flagbearers of this practice, and the league promptly fined them $500,000. The NBA’s action is understandable since this practice would lead to disappointment among fans who are spending their hard-earned money to see these stars play. But then, affordability is a bigger issue for the league than fan dejection due to tanking, believes former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban
One of the few people who understands the role the customer has in the NBA is Cuban. Of course, he understands that the worst thing a team can do is provide a poor experience for a paying customer by tanking. However, Cuban believes the bigger issue is if the customer can’t even get through the doors.
“I made the point that ‘tanking’ is not as important an issue as affordability,” Cuban said in a post on X. “When a family can afford to come to a game, they do. It’s a unique bonding event that creates incredible memories.”
I made the point that “tanking” , IMO, is not as important an issue as affordability. I wanted to give some context.
I think some in this discussion are underestimating the long term value, and importance of families changing from being committed to a team, to following…
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) February 22, 2026
Unfortunately, that experience is not as common as it should be in the NBA. Plenty of teams have alienated true fans with ticket pricing. That has resulted in a poor atmosphere in their home arenas. When Cuban became the owner of the Dallas Mavericks in 2000, he vowed to change that for the fans.
“This is why the Mavs had $2 tickets for a while. It’s why David Stern put in place $10 tickets after the lockout in the 1990s. It’s why every Mavs game had 4k tickets under $19,” Cuban proclaimed.
The affordable tickets allowed existing and new fans to experience Mavs basketball without breaking the bank. The benefits of Cuban’s decision were amazing, but it wasn’t without financial consequences.
“The math is the marginal revenue of an increased ticket price vs the incremental value of families committed as ‘Mavs families.’ I gave up probably $15per ticket or $60k per game. $2.4 million a year,” Cuban said.
That is a lot of money that Cuban sacrificed to achieve a long-term goal. Unfortunately, most owners don’t have the passion that Cuban had for the fans. The main goal across most teams is to make as much money as possible, which obviously leads to marginal spending on the team’s behalf.
Cuban’s take highlights the sentiment that many NBA fans have across the nation. The issue of tanking will still be something that the league will need to address, but it shouldn’t be the only one.
