Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban no longer has as big of a role with the franchise as he once did, but he revealed during a recent podcast appearance that he used to give Mavs players a credit card to go buy dinner.
Cuban was the controlling owner of the Mavs for over two decades before he gave up his majority stake in late 2023.
Mark Cuban says he used to give Mavs players his credit card to buy dinner:
“Go get some dinner. Here’s a credit card, get whatever you want.”
(via @RoadTrippinPod, h/t @MrBuckBuckNBA)pic.twitter.com/UVXW4Utkrl
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 12, 2025
The Mavs enjoyed some iconic times during Cuban’s time as their majority owner, most notably in 2011 when they won their first championship in franchise history. They took down the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals that year to reach the mountaintop of the NBA and get revenge for their 2006 NBA Finals matchup against the Heat that went in the other direction.
For better or worse, since Cuban sold his majority stake, the organization has undergone some changes, headlined by its stunning decision to trade away franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic last season to the Los Angeles Lakers. Cuban has had a lot to say about that decision.
Mark Cuban revealed that he was supposed to continue running the Mavericks after selling the team, but something happened internally
“The person who traded Luka didn’t want me there.” 👀
(🎥 @theallinpod / h/t @KevinGraySports )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 10, 2025
Hopefully for the Mavs, there are some bright days ahead after their 2024-25 season turned out to be a disaster. The squad, coming off an NBA Finals appearance in 2024, traded Doncic, was struck by the injury bug and then missed the playoffs.
With any luck, the Mavs will be back in contention this coming season with a core headlined by Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and Cooper Flagg. Their brutal 2024-25 campaign did net them the No. 1 overall pick (which turned into Flagg), so that was a major silver lining for the franchise.
While Cuban may not agree with everything that has gone down within the Dallas organization since he gave up the reins, he remains involved with the franchise and certainly wants to see the team succeed. In the coming years, that could mean that his Mavs will have to go through Doncic’s Lakers in the Western Conference as the teams battle for positioning.
The 2025-26 season will begin next month. The Mavs and Lakers are scheduled to play four times during the regular season.
