Cuban: NBA should 'embrace tanking,' improve fan experience
Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban thinks the NBA should "embrace tanking" and be more transparent in addressing the league's discussions regarding the subject.
"The NBA has been misguided thinking that fans want to see their teams compete every night with a chance to win," Cuban posted Tuesday on X. "It's never been that way.
"When I got into the NBA, they thought they were in the basketball business. They aren't. They are in the business of creating experiences for fans."
Cuban went on to suggest that tanking proves to fans that their team is looking ahead with the goal of being more competitive the following year.
"The one way to get closer to (a championship) is via the draft. And trades. And cap room," he added. "You have a better chance of improving via all three when you tank."
The NBA has taken steps recently to address tanking. Last Thursday, the league fined the Utah Jazz $500K and the Indiana Pacers $100K for sitting healthy players in games earlier in February. The league punished both clubs for violating the player participation policy that relates to a team demonstrating an approved reason for a star player not to participate in a game.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged during All-Star Weekend that tanking has been "worse this year than we've seen in recent memory," per ESPN. He also said that the league is considering every possible option to deter tanking, including stripping draft picks.
Cuban, who was the majority owner of the Mavericks from 2000-23, challenged the idea that teams should be penalized for attempting to improve their draft position. Instead, he believes the league's biggest dilemma is affordability and quality of game presentation for fans.
"You know who cares the least about tanking: a parent who can't afford to bring their three kids to a game and buy their kids a jersey of their fave player," he said.
Cuban credited tanking for helping the Mavericks land star guard Luka Doncic in the 2018 draft. Dallas stumbled to a 24-58 record during the 2017-18 campaign prior to acquiring Doncic, who developed into an All-NBA talent over his six-and-a-half seasons with the team.
"We didn't tank often. Only a few times over 23 years, but when we did, our fans appreciated it," Cuban said.