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DALLAS — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here . Mark Cuban believes in opening his wallet to spend on employees, including during his tenure as majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks .
Roughly a year after selling much of his stake in the Mavs to Miriam Adelson and her family, Cuban has been reflecting on his high-profile leadership of the NBA team in recent podcasts and interviews. They provide helpful lessons on strategic leadership, even if you never own a professional sports team. Investing in the player experience was crucial to elevating the team's on-court success, Cuban told hosts Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley during an episode of "The Steam Room Podcast" published Nov.
27 . "Remember when I bought the Mavs, the previous 10 years we hadn't made the playoffs," Cuban recalled, referencing his 2010 purchase of the team for $285 million. "We were voted the worst professional sports franchise.
So I had to change hearts and minds. I had to let them know that things were going to change. And one way to do that was to invest.
" Under Cuban, the Mavs invested in "luxury accommodations" including upgraded locker rooms. The team moved into the American Airlines Center in 2001, although construction of the arena was started by Cuban's predecessor as owner, Ross Perot Jr. The team later opened a new practice center in the Design District .
Cuban also oversaw a change in the coaching staff structure with the introduction of player development coaches, which was later replicated throughout the league. The Mavericks became regular playoff contenders after Cuban's purchase and won their first and only NBA championship in 2011. "I just wanted to put the players in a position to succeed," Cuban said on the podcast.
"And when you put them in a position to succeed, they don’t have excuses." On "The Steam Room," Cuban also spoke about the recent change to his seats during Mavs away games — he said the NBA informed him he can no longer sit in the second row, just behind the players, where he’s sat for more than two decades. "From day one, when I bought the Mavs, I already sat in the second row right behind the players," he said, adding he likes to keep a close ear on what’s being said and felt by players and coaches.
"...
You find out about relationships, you find out where guys’ heads are, you find out how they react to coaching or are they listening or not. And so for 24 years, that’s exactly what I did." The hosts asked Cuban if he’s had any seller’s remorse in the past year.
"There’s always times, right?" he said. "When you do something for 20-something years, you have your instincts and your habits and things become second nature, and those are things I’ve got to just hold myself back on because I’m not the majority owner anymore." Cuban also shared an update on stepping away from the reality television show "Shark Tank" as a host.
He said he wants to spend more time with his family and the shooting schedule for the show has conflicted with his children's holiday and school schedules and their birthdays. When asked what his best investments have been on the show, Cuban shared three that have been especially lucrative: Dude Wipes, Beatbox Beverages and Mush. "My leaving has nothing to do with the show itself," he said.
"I still love it. I love the fact that we’ve encouraged entrepreneurs of multiple generations." In an episode of the "Club Shay Shay" podcast published in late September , Cuban talked with host Shannon Sharpe about how he made a habit of sharing the proceeds of big company exits with longtime employees.
That included turning almost all of the employees of Broadcast.com into millionaires after selling the internet radio business to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in stock.
And Cuban gave Mavericks employees more than $35 million in bonuses after the December 2023 majority stake sale. "I'm not there without them," he said. "I did it my first two companies.
I did it with MicroSolutions, we had 80 employees, they all got paid. I did it with Broadcast.com.
Out of 330 employees, 300 became millionaires. And I wanted to do the same thing with the Mavs. They were there for me the whole time.
It was enough money that for those who were there 20 years or more, it was life-changing money.".
