MARK CUBAN REVEALS HIS BEST INVESTMENT
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Brief Summary
Mark Cuban recounts rebuilding the Mavericks’ culture and player development, helping turn a 9–23 team into a 31–19 one over its next 50 games.
Key points
- A culture built to win. He tells the players he expects them to win, and offers a choice: commit to the plan or be traded.
- A mentor for every player. Former Mavericks are brought in to work one-on-one with players, improving their skills and reinforcing the team's winning culture.
- A dramatic turnaround. After taking over a team with nine wins and 23 losses, he says they went 31–19 over the next 50 games.
Episode highlights
- A culture built to winHe tells the players he expects them to win, and offers a choice: commit to the plan or be traded.“We're going to win.”0:46Oct 28, 2026
- A mentor for every playerFormer Mavericks are brought in to work one-on-one with players, improving their skills and reinforcing the team's winning culture.“all of our players had somebody focused on them”1:21Oct 28, 2026
- A dramatic turnaroundAfter taking over a team with nine wins and 23 losses, he says they went 31–19 over the next 50 games.1:40Oct 28, 2026
Transcript
We were literally spending more money on computer training than we were on player development for players we paid more than a million dollars. This is the dumbest I've ever seen. Hiring is critical, right? I mean, if you don't have the right people and the right culture, the people that fit into that culture, you're going to suck. >> It makes me think about this again. The master. >> Yeah, that as well. Yeah. You've got to have culture. And particularly in sports, you can have the most talent, but if they don't fit together as a team, they're going to suck. >> Is that what you found when you went
into the maths originally? >> Oh, yeah. When I got there, nobody wanted to be there. People in the office, people on the court that we were just a way station. If you couldn't get a job with the Lakers or the Celtics or whoever, okay, the Mavs will hire you and that's fine. So, when I got there, it was the most important thing that I focused on. I sat there in front of the players. I'm like, we're going to win. And if you want to stay, let me know. And if you don't want to stay, let me know and I'll trade you. I got no problem with that. We're going to do things differently. I expect you to win. I'll give you the tools you need to win.
We were literally spending more money on computer training and support than we were on player development for players we paid more than a million dollars. This is the dumbest I've ever seen. And so I asked our general manager and coaches, I'm like, "Go find former Mavericks and I want you to bring them in and we're going to assign to each of them one player who has a similar skill set that they had when they were in the NBA and they're going to do nothing but work with them." Now all of a sudden all of our players had somebody focused on them and not only did it improve their skills, but it made them realize that the culture of this organization is to win and we will do whatever it takes to
win. You know, it paid off. But the rest of the NBA, oh my god, they hated me. >> Did you see the culture changing of the maths? >> Oh, like that. When I took over, we were nine wins and 23 losses. >> Oh, damn. >> We finished the season um the next 50 games we were 31 and 19. >> Wow. Yeah, >> the next season.
