“2011 NBA Finals: Game 6” with Mark Cuban | Mavericks vs. Heat

Today we have a very special guest. We all know him in Shark Tank. So that legendary entrepreneur Mark.

Cuban, Mark Cuban, Mark Cuban, tell I'm like to get your crodic out.

He was the bad boy of the owners back in the day, and now you've become the model citizen of the owner.

No, hell no, no, they just don't find me over it anymore.

House for three It now tell us about this twenty eleven.

Finals Game six in Miami.

In Miami, the Heatles.

Everybody hated them. You know, from an owner's perspective, I'm just terrified the whole day. Your emotions are just all over.

The map, and you're not in control, no control whatsoever.

My thing was, Okay, if I take a sip of the diet coke at the right moment, we'll score. And if I take my diet coke and put it down the exact right spot, we'll get a stop.

There is no life.

I would just give the guy a hundred bucks to say, just keep him.

You've heard millions of pitches you were in on the Lebron sweepsteak. What was your pitch games with names is a production of iHeart Radio Welcome to Games with Names, presented by win Bet. On today's episode, we're talking Game six of the twenty eleven NBA Finals with Maverick's owner Mark Cuban. We promised not to pitch him anything. I don't think we did, did we, Jack?

I think we might be the only people in America to talk.

With if I had pitch. But we got into his pitch.

Oh we had pitches in the holster though. Yeah, we had them eaters.

We were ready to just like a gun slinger.

We'll save those for the tank.

We dive into him as an NFL owner or NBA owner, and his NFL.

Thought is try his attempts.

I mean, the pig gets fat. What does he say? Was that? Yes? I believe he did. They also get into who's the greater euro Luca Dirk, Joe Kooker. We we talk about me potentially buying a pro basketball team. I wanted to join, you know, I want to I want to join him.

He had some some wise words of advice.

He did he did. We also get into a wild scoring segment presented by wind Bet. You know, we also getting fined by the nfor he got fined by the league. Tons of times, tons of times. Then now he's like the stand up owner of the league, the rise or the Change, and also the Chiloopa brawls.

Oh my god, Chiloopa brawl. Baby, it's a wild one. I I like crunt traps. I'm a crunch trap guy.

Yeah, you can never go wrong. Then we wrap it up with scoring, our scoring system.

Self scoring, self scouting, self or.

Self scout, self scout the show. Yep, I mean that's something you have to do. The tapes never is good, and the tapes never is bad. All the best do it? Maybe now, make sure to check us out Games with Names on your YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok at games with Names. Subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Comment a game you want us to do, and remember to rate and review. Games with

American Airlines Arena Miami, Florida.

The Big Three are looking for their first.

Title, but Dirk and my MAVs have the plans.

This is Game six ah the twoy eleven MBA Finals.

Today we have a very special guest, legendary entrepreneur owner of the Dallas Mavericks. We all know him in Shark Tank. He was the bad boy of the owners back in the day. Like, that's what I remember early in my stages of watching you when you were first time owned, when you first became owner. Then now you've become like the model citizen of the No no, no no no.

But you know, just don't find me over it is.

They don't find you anymore. I just always remember you're getting fined all the time. Welcome to the show. This is Games with Names. We basically are on a mission to find the greatest games of all time. The Gog the greatest of all games. Everyone talks about the Goat, the greatest of all time. This is a podcast where we go back and we get to have people that have experienced this game in some situation, some sort of scenario, you being the owner of the team, and we talked

Thanks for having me. I'm excited to talk about it now.

I want to start off. You're from Pittsburgh, PA. I'm a football guy. Yeah, that's a football town.

Sure is Western Pa.

Western Pa.

Absolutely.

I went to Kent State, so I grew up with I went to school with all these Western Pa because Kent State's not far from not far like two hours. Now. You're a huge Steelers fan.

Yep, still am hardcore.

And then big basketball fan as well.

Yeah that was hard to wint Pittsburgh. But definitely growing up for sure, I'm just you know, sports fan my entire life.

Yeah, now, how did you get to Indiana?

So my path was kind of backass halfwards. When I was in high school, they wouldn't let me take a business class when I was a junior, So I took a class at the University of Pittsburgh night and I'm like, okay, this was easy, I can do that. And so I didn't go back for my senior year. I literally dropped out of high school went to the University of Pittsburgh my senior year, but they didn't have a business school either.

The reason that was yeah, funny to hear it come out of your mouth.

Yeah, I mean I'd never set foot on campus, hadn't seen it at all. All I knew about it was that I could afford it, had a great business school. And there was a book way back then that was like the Insiders Guard Guide to College and it said it was one of the best party in campuses in the country. I'm like, let's go.

It's crazy. I've heard that too. And you're Jewish. Yeah, there's a lot of Jews that go to Indiana that I know, like five or six Jewish families that went into.

That, I know the Rosenbergs. But but yeah, like when I got there, there were all the Jewish. All the Jews were like either in Jewish fraternity or Jewish art and I wasn't in either. And I mean literally no, Lie. I remember meeting some girl that I thought was cute going to in Foster Quad, going to the Little cafeteria there to get a bagel, and she's I've never had a bagel before, and I'm like really, She goes, are

You're invested in a bunch of businesses. Yeah, it's been highly noted that you've tried to buy other organizations baseball teams, soccer, no soccer, A lot of baseball teams that I've heard just.

Too, the Rangers and the Pirates, oh three in the Cubs.

And then the Panthers. Didn't you try to take a stab at the Panthers in the NFL?

A little no, No, because I can never really afford the NFL. You got to be all in and they don't come up for sale a whole lot.

No.

And so there was a chance I had an opportunity to buy into the Steelers. A minority owner contacted me about selling and I just didn't want to be a minority owner.

Yeah, and then.

Tepper bought the Panthers, right, And I guess they did reach out to me at some point, but I wasn't into it. But you talk about, you know, Jews in Pittsburgh. I didn't even i'd met David. I didn't realize until after the fact when somebody sent me a picture. I went to a sweet sixteen party for a girl I had a crush on, had no chance with, and they sent me a picture saying, that guy, right there is David Tepper and there's me and we were both sixteen

Now, NFL is still on a decline, you know.

I said that, and people are like, still rip me on it. But you know, I still firmly believe that when you try to ask for too much, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered, that that it backfires. And it hasn't happened yet. And I think I think my timeline got pushed off some because of gambling, because that kind of just propelled everything, you know, But the TV and media industry is changing a lot, and it's going to be really interesting to see how it impacts all professional sports,

It's crazy because you made your money in that broadcast streaming streaming, Yeah, we started the first, that's yeah. Is it going to come to a point now where like the Mavericks are going to have you guys are going to start streaming your own games and you know, forget the networks, forget it because that's where it's essentially going.

Well, there's two things there, right, So like we started Todd Wagner and I started an EU, Buddy started Audio netback in nineteen ninety five, which was the first streaming company, which sticking back has been twenty eight years. That's insane. But where you know now things are everything streaming, everything's digital, right,

But the ticket just went to YouTube TV.

Yeah, I know, that's gonna be really interesting to see.

What It's going to be very interesting, and you know, that's kind of what kept direct TV alive was having the exactly exactly. Now they don't have the ticket, it's probably gonna die.

You know, and it's really convenience and you know, it's a hassle to switch and for you know, some you get and it's not cheap, you know, no matter which platform it's on, and so you got to be able to afford it. And that that's really gonna make it really interesting. But you know, YouTube zonned by Google. Google's got a lot of money and they can adapt. If they don't get the subs that they need, we'll see what happens.

Amazon two Amazon two now tell us about this game six twenty eleven, Miami Heat versus you.

Know, the Dallas game, six man. It was three two MAVs in Miami.

In Miami, and there's like this NBA thing where for a closeout game in the finals, and some teams do it other rounds, and I'm curious if you guys do it in the NFL.

Guys were black because funeral? Do they do that in the NFL?

I always love to wear black pregame suits. Uh huh, just like that Johnny Cash kind of you know that field, Yeah, the killer, yeah, killer, here to go to a funeral and this is not a fun thing, yep. We're here to put people away, put.

People away, to bury them, right.

To bury them.

And that was the attitude. And I just have you know, getting off the bus, just the image of all the guys right walking into black suits, just got that look right where this is like, now's the chance, right, you know we if we lose, we still have one more game, but you don't want to give them another chance, right and now as possible, and just that focus and that fire.

All over the map and you're not in control.

No control whatsoever.

That's the worst thing. It's kind of like when you're in or now that I'm watching, I still support my team. You know, you sit and you watch and you're like, it's nerve wracking because you can't do it.

It's nothing I can do right, it's all and your body reacts like you're still playing or playing right, and you're you know, not that I played NBA, but you know, it's still just basketball right in my body. You know, it's it's insane your mind and you're looking for things and if they don't happen, you freak out. And when it works, you freak out. And yeah, it's just such an emotional roller coaster from the night before at least till till when the game starts.

It's crazy for me because basketball and baseball and hockey and these teams that you guys gotta go out win a series, you know, so like there's such an emotional roller coaster that it's it's longer than an NFL one. Brutal ours is like a quarter. I know that it's the next series. You gotta you gotta go.

Yeah, And in the NBA they say every game is a series. When you win a game, you feel like you're never going to lose again, and when you lose a game, you feel like you're never going to win.

Yeah, it's crazy. Tell us a story about you buying the MAVs.

Okay, so we sold broadcast dot Com and I was living in Dallas and I was a season ticket holder and we sucked.

No, wait, how did you get to Dallas? First? I sorry to cut you off. You're from Pittsburgh. Go to Indiana. And then I heard you were like busting tables or you're you're owning a bar in Texas or something.

I owned a bar in Bloomington and we got shut down from underage drinking. And thank god because I was. I hadn't even turned twenty one when we started at Cheesy, and then obviously I had friends that I was letting in. I didn't care. CB. We had a radio where we would listen in a scanner, please scanner, and I would sit behind the bar or sit upstairs and I would listen to the scanner and just like listen for the

Entrepreneurials bad boy. Yeah that was day one.

Twenty one and let's go. But yeah, so from there, I'm like, okay, time to go. And a bunch of my friends had moved to Dallas, and I'm calling them on the phone and they're like, you gotta come down. You got to come down. The weather's great. I mean I growing up Pittsburgh and Bloomington where the weather sucks, right,

Man. And then then that's the start of it.

Everyone started.

Everyone has those rags to riches.

Yeah, you know, everybody has an origin story.

It's the best, it's the best. Let's just jump into your owner ownership stock. And I was around a great owner, mister Craft. Yeah, Robert's cool and uh, you know he was at the facility every day, was he he was. He was at every team meeting, he was in the meetings. You know, he was doing this thing. He had you know, craft enterprise in the area that we were at above our locker room, so he was always around. Were you that type of owner you were?

I mean clearly more yeah at the beginningmore like when I first got there. I'm like forty one years old, I think, and I still hope like five times a week at that time, right, and so I just wanted to be anywhere where they're playing ball right that. But I also had to learn the business, so I would I would spend a lot of time there just trying to figure things out and trying to understand. I didn't come in with my own group. I kept everybody that

Yeah.

And then I guess the other thing that that really got me started. When I got there, I was going through the numbers and we spent more on software support and PC training than we did on player development, and we had like four coaches, which was normal. And I'm like, this is ridiculous, right, these guys were paying them, you know, hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars and we do

Yeah, and there's now that everyone's everybody that's like, that's such a huge thing. The rookie symposiums and all that stuff. A lot of people don't realize a lot of these guys come from nothing. You dump a bunch of money in their lap and.

Yeah all the time, and they don't know how to be pros pros right, and sport.

Is younger at a nineteen eighteen.

And barely went to school. When they went to school, yeah exactly. Yeah, were you guys for the most part three or four years.

You have to do three, you have to do three. Yeah.

And so back then it was like there was no player development. Now we've got you know, we have interns that are there just to rebound. We've got you know, eight player development coaches. Whatever it is. It may even be more. Yeah, But back then they were like, you're an idiot, you're ruining the game. Other owners were yelling at me.

I mean, you name it anything different, That's how it always is. And then you got to.

Try to get an edge. Anything you can do to get an edge.

Let's go back to twenty twelve, twenty eleven. Now, this is a segment where we like to talk about pop culture. What was going on in that time. And number one movie Super eight? Did you see it?

I saw that movie?

That was That was JJ Abrams.

That was yeah. That was the one with Nicholas Cage right where he was oh no, no, Super eight, the one where it's like give them movies. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah. The hype around it for me was so much bigger than what I thought it was. I mean, it was well done.

But it was a good movie.

It was a good movie. Yeah, Whitey Bulgery know this is we we have a lot of Boston people. He was arrested right down the street here in Santa Was that like twelve years ago. It's that's crazy.

It's just like you know, Rolling in the Deep, you know, that was a great song. It was a song. And yeah, Dell and now she's dating Rich from Clutch, right, and so it's just like a small connection.

Obviously Kyrie Kyrie number one. Well you guys have Kyrie right now.

Yeah. I love Kyrie.

You love him.

He's a good dude.

I spent some time with them. So when I think I was suspended, I got suspended. I was on vacation. The Celtics let me come into their organization and and work with them. That's cool, just to keep a routine. And uh I sat down with Kyrie a bunch. We played ping pong and we just talk nothing about sports, nothing about st That's who he is, you know, and he just ask random questions and you know, I don't really know him, but like I he was like a really interesting guy.

He really likes to get deep on something deep, really deep, right, Like he wants basketball is his profession, but he wants to be a more well rounded human, right, and he wants to connect to people on a human level, which is why I like Kyrie. But that's not easy for everybody to accept or understand.

It's not you know, it's it's tough because last few years he's been with a bunch of teams and it's hard for But you know.

What it's like when you look at athletes from the outside, you don't really know until you know them exactly. You know, there's a lot of perceptions, a lot of misperceptions. But you know, when before we made the trade, you know I would I went back and I watch after games and other players around the league when they played him, will come up and give him a big hug, right, Not let's just exchange jerseys, you know, pat him on the back, pat him on the head. It's just like

No, it could be something about the moon. It could be something literally about like the ocean.

Right, and you know, and he's really big into his genealogy and so his Lakota roots and all these things, which I find fascinating. Yeah right, I told him this, he goes, I told him, you remind me of my mom. My mom was the same way. So it was pretty cool.

Yeah. What was life like for Mark Cuban in twenty eleven.

Well, pre June twelfth or post June twelfth, let's go pre pre It was, you know, getting to the playoffs. I mean, look, I have the best life in the world. There's just just no way fans or butts about it. My kids are healthy, so that wall was good. But you know, the sports side of things, you get to the playoffs, and we had made it past the first round in a while, and there was some radio guys that were calling us to one and done boys, and so getting past.

That, well the year before was that the Warriors.

No, that was a couple of years ago, a couple of years yeah, where we were sixty seven and fifteen the last time guys.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I couldn't. That was crazy.

It was my shirt though, right, Yeah, yeah, I just you know, yeah, I like your shirt.

I like your shirt too, Yeah.

You know, but uh, how's it changed since after te Georgia was great because you know, I never paid for a meal.

I mean because we beat the dreaded heat right, the Heatles. Everybody hated them, and it was so different because, like I remember, right after we won, I had to go to New York for something I already had scheduled. On the tarmac, I got off the plane and people just started clapping. We all we went to a restaurant for an event and in New York and people just go clapping for me everywhere I went, and even in the

I mean, that was like the second super big team big three thing going on everyone. You know, the Celtics kind of got away with it because those guys were a little older in their career. They weren't necessarily in the prime like right, these three.

No, it was going to be not one, not two, not three.

And then the whole announcement with Lebron like that exactly exactly.

Plus Danny traded for those guys and he made those movies.

These guys all that felt like left.

But yeah, exactly now you're in Shark Tank. Yeah, you've heard millions of pitches, millions. You were in on the Lebron sweepstake, tried to be what was the pitch? I want to hear this legendary pitch A man that has heard so many pitches in his life, you know, what was your pitch?

We didn't get a chance really to sit down and pitch and pitch him, so I had to go through different channels, right through Maverick and other people I knew. And it was.

Basically perfect guy to go through, by the way, with the Mavericks.

Yeah, Maverick Mavericks, right, Maverick Carter, And it was basically this will be your town and you and Dirk together that compliment each other, with Jason Kidd as a point guard. But we didn't really, we never had to sit down with him.

Dallas Cowboys, Fanny, Yeah, and that's exactly right.

We even got a little message from Jerry, you know, a little video from Jerry and Tony Romo and all these guys, and yeah, it didn't work, but it worked.

It worked. It worked and.

I made it all the sweeter. And I'll tell you know a story about that. During that series, we were down in last game one, were down in Game two at halftime in Miami, and at that time to go off the court, you walk on the court and you make a left to go back to the locker room, and pat Riley sat right there, was standing right there, and he goes, we got you, Mark, We're too long, too fast, and damn. Right after he says that we come back in the second half and when and when?

So that was kind of is that an intimidation in factor by old path?

It doesn't matter if he timidates me.

I know, but that's the kind of good is ARMANI suit?

Yeah, it was arrogant, but that's okay.

I like little fire.

Oh no, there's always fire going I diden.

I didn't want to bring it up, but like, what do people call you Mark?

Ye?

Mark?

Cubes cuban Yeah, cubes Mark whatever que yeah just no, No one called me cube just cubes, yeah, Cuban cubes cues.

On this day in twenty twelve, twenty eleven, we also go back on the social you were This will sound weird, I'm lying in bed with the trophy next to me. Dreams do Dreams Come True with the hashtag yep legendary tweet legendary look at mana. He was such a stud.

Yeah, JJ is the Northeastern Eastern.

Mine was eat your eat my heart out. Maps are playing with hot fire cowabunga.

Okay, good first half dirty.

I have a feeling which he did heat up.

Oh my god, yeah, because he was I remember in the locker room he was shaking his head. He was like two for eleven or something like that. I remember, yeah, and he was shaking as everybody's like, Dirk, don't matter, don't matter. Come on, this is where you make. This is the part that counts because it was close and boom, that's dark man.

What a good guy will be right back after this quick break. Games with Names is brought to you by my friends at win Bet. Wind Bet is bringing the excitement of win Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor to online sports betting. Whether you're a recreational player or some serious handicapper, win bet is your ticket to every exciting wager, from straight bets to parlays, teasers, and any prop bet you can dream up. All players have access to win rewards and can redeem them for resort credits in Las

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Eight hundred five to two to two four seven zero zero, Jackie, why don't you jump in and set the stage for I.

Mean, we touched on a little bit of the narrative. I mean, this is the super team, the heat year. Lebron Bosh d Wade. Lebron brings big Z down there with him. We got role players. You got Mike Miller, he got all those guys. He started a little slow eight and nine lost to the Celtics in theory there, right.

So they were ten and ten playing us, and we beat them to make him ten to eleven. But that's the game where people thought it was gonna blow up because Lebron gave Spolstra the shoulder shrug, right, remember right, then I'll give you one other Miami Heat connection. So when I first bought the MAVs, I got contacted by Eric Spolstra's dad, who wrote one of the best marketing books ever, and asked me to write the forward. So yeah, so I I know it wasn't afford. It was a blurb,

He spose I mean, like, because I was a knock on Spoe at the time. I go, he's too young to coach these stars like pat Riley, all this stuff they're about.

They were saying Pat was going to come out again, right.

That's exactly what they were saying. I mean, it supposed turned into just one of the rest. Yeah, is it?

Like?

I know, he worked his way up from we were joking towel boy the video room to head coach Blake. Do you think staying with that team that long and building you know, heat culture is like part of what makes him so special.

Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah, it's hard to stay with the team out It really really.

Is, especially in basketball. Yeah, like even great coaches that win championships.

You guys, especially recently, Yeah.

Because it's all it's a player's league.

And the changes too, Like you brought the point about guys being in college for three years in the NFL. Now they're getting with the NBA. They're getting younger and younger, and social media is more impactful I think in basketball

Well, I mean, I was the first kid on social media in the locker room in two thousand and nine, were you really Yeah, like my generation, the guys above us were no clue. Everyone's before everyone and those Yeah, you know, so over the time, you know, like you said, these kids are getting famous when they're twelve. And even in football, you see a little kid he does a backflip over a guy, right right, Yeah, and then he's

Things what's even the last couple of years now with nil they're getting paid because of it.

Yeah. I used to make that joke all the time that the Alabama and the Florida guys were taking pay cuts when they came to the NFL. Now it's legitimate and it's legit. It's crazy, but they were actually doing that as well then.

No, I know obviously, I mean, yeah, the story is a legendary, right, it's just above board now.

Yeah, Mark in saying that like this is this is also sort of the first generation I feel like of rookies that have maybe second or third year, but like that have had their whole life on like the overtime afflication of that, Like, yeah, what do you see when these rookie I come in, like.

You know, it's there's there's a good side. I'm actually positive about it, okay, Because one they've made some money, some nil money in high school, let alone college or through overtime a lead or you know, g legal eight. That's a good thing because they start to learn how to manage their money, so that's a positive. They don't just come to us with that too. They're used to being under a microscope, and they're used to being watched

It's the information era, you know, Like these guys are smarter now a lot back in the day, Like you'd have like five or six guys that ate steaks with their hands, not a forking knife. Like that doesn't happen now. You see, like your linebacker he's eating a filet mignon, like with perfect etiquette, perfect right, you know, I think he must have youtub it or something.

Really like two thousand and nine, right before then, Ivan Johnson, who didn't end up making it with us. He played with the Hawks for a couple of years. The guy I called him Ivan Drago, but he had no idea who that was, and he would he literally would just for shits and giggles, beat the beat the hell out of people. And then he went to like Taiwan or the Philippines and play or Korea and just just destroyed somebody and was booted from all leagues forever. And I

He was last playing in the Philippines in twenty seventeen.

Is that what it was?

Yeah, shout out Ivan, Yeah, there you go, Ivan, Let's get over to the main event. The average Jackie.

Oh yeah, Mark, you might have to help me with this one. You know better than me. But I was going through watching this stuff like this team with all the guys, the Jason Terry's, the Deshaun. I forgot how good Deshaun Stevenson was in this series and that it was Oh my god. He was torturingate from saying the Jet Terry, I love.

The Jet Jet Jet.

Yeah.

Just talked to him yesterday.

Really, Yeah, he's with Is he with Arizona still? Longe utah utah Okay, that's right. And he was assistant but old veteran group yep. That was kind of the not coming into this yep, third seed in the West, kind of like everyone kind of said, flew under the radar.

And we had a lot of injuries too. I mean, people don't realize Roddy bau Boah number three, he was like our young speed demon. He got hurt. Karan Butler, who's now with the heat, he got hurt. He was our number two score and we were literally like twenty nine and three after thirty. It was just insane or twenty nine and five something like that. How good we were. Then Roddy Koran get hurt and then Dirk gets hurt too, and we lost six in a row, and people were like, oh,

Yeah, like how do you deal with that in in your sport? Because we you know, in football, we only have sixteen games, seventeen games. Now, we'd lose a game, we'd come in the building the next day and it was like a fucking funeral.

Well it's still it's the same in the NBA. But if you guys have like you go on games once the next in the playoffs, it's definitely like that. But even during the regular season, like you get on the plane and it's it's a funeral, right, but then prett, next practice or you know, next game you got to go? Comes with leadership, Yeah, it does.

And and speaking of leadership, what's your best Dirk story?

Oh my god that I'm allowed to tell.

We love whatever this is.

Oh my god, I've you know, I've had a lot of fun with Dirk.

You're going to Germany with them?

No, I have not been to Germany with Dirk.

Have not Octoberfest.

He's invited me. Yeah, I did a october Fest with Dirk when his sister got married, but it was in the US. Dirk. So, okay, yeah, I'm gonna tell I'm gonna I'm gonna fix the story that Dirk told at his Hall of Fame introduction, right, so his enshrinement. So Dirk gets up there and he talks about how when I first bought the team, we played one on one, which is true, and he says, yeah, I dunked on his head and he quit, which is true. But what he did say is I scored the first two buckets

This year games with names Mark Cuban beats Dirk.

I have it on video too.

So you can't dunk on a guy that's not elite, Yes you can.

I don't care. I've been dunked on so many times in my life.

And then I'd be remissed if we didn't talk about the road to the finals. You beat Kobe, you beat Durant, you beat Lebron, you beat Duell. That was in the finals, but Kobe Durant on the way to the fire that.

First round against Portland, right, we were up two oh maybe no it was two oh. And we go to Portland and we're up like twenty four at halftime and Brandon Roy, who could barely walk at the time but it was just incredible player, came back and literally took us and that made it to one, and I think they tied it to two. But that really made us come together and when we won that series, that really built our confidence.

Sometimes those come from behind or those losses that I saw. Like for us, it was in twenty fourteen. We went on to win the Super Bowl. That year, we went and lost to the Green Bay Packers, and it was kind of like it was kind of like a basketball trip for us. We went directly from Green Bay to San Diego, stayed a week in San Diego, which we don't do that. You can usually go back and forth. But it was such a gelling moment from us for us after that loss in November to come back play

You don't know what it takes, right, don't because you know, you got fifty three guys, which makes it ten times harder and you barely get to know any of some of them, you know.

But you know, and it's constantly revolving, right, just like you guys, You guys are getting those ten day contracts and.

Changes, but not as much as like you guys, right, it's like, who were you with us? You know? It takes time because when there's only fifteen guys, everybody's got their own the veterans that they got their own personalities, right, and they've got their own history and they've been through it enough where they want to win. But it takes time for everybody to get the rolls down. And we got we got all that together early, and then the injuries come along and then you know, we're still there's

You guys swept the Lakers.

Yeah. I remember going into that series going, oh shit, this is the two time defending champs. This is gonna be tough.

Now. Now we're full anti Laker podcasts. Okay, pro Kobe podcast we love called anti Laker just any there with you? Any Kobe stories.

Kobe and I would text back and forth more like towards the end of his career.

He's picking your brain for entrepreneurs.

Well, no, I would. I would give him shit. I'm like, okay, now that you're retired, and I remember when he retired, I'm like, okay, now you're on mar turf. I'm gonna kick your ass, but I'm happy to help you if you're willing to accept the requirements. And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, And and you know we got We weren't close, but we got to be friends.

I remember he came and spoke to our team. We'd always have some speaker in the off season. And the amount of knowledge that came out of his on a wide range, not just competition, not just sport, but like how he educated himself in like multiple different facets of life that I could speak like four languages, which insane, you know, like he was a he was a brilliant guy. Yeah he knew, I mean felt that when year around him.

For sure. I mean he knew that he was going to play to hes forty at the oldest right and he was gonna hope so, you know, heartbreaking now, but life is a little much longer, you know, when you're fortunate, and I think he wanted to prepare for that.

Yeah. Yeah, we got to pour a little out for Kobe of the p h By the way, I'm not a pitch guy, but you know, this water brand is my water brand, and we are taking it.

I'm just choking, but I think I saw this on Amazon.

Yeah, we're on Amazon because it's great water.

I think they had a special on because I think I bought like two eight packs. Are they like an eight pax?

Yeah, we got him in eight packs.

When we're done, I'll look on my Amazon because refrigerator.

Right now, we're gonna send him to you. Even better, even better if free will give you three You learned all right? So you notoriously went dark? Yeah on social Yeah you're social guy zero dark thirty. We all heard from Lebron. So you're the real pioneer of shutting it all down for the playoffs. Yeah, for sure. What you had to get into mindset, you had to let everyone know you were focusing up.

No, I'm stupid, stitious and so stupid. You know, I've been talking all the other ones and had to work for us, So I'm like, I'm just gonna shut the fuck up. And when we won the first series, I'm like, Okay, it's working. Then the next it's working again. I'm not gonna say a word. And you know, I don't know about you, but I have so many routines that I'm just stupid stitious about. Like if you watch me from

And if I.

Take my diet coke and put it down the exact right spot that we'll get a stop. And obviously it worked. So I just kept on doing.

What's the record for dCas in a game?

Oh, I have no idea, there is no lie. I would just give the guy a hundred bucks to say, just come. And so I have so many like where I sit, where my arms go, this on that. Still to this day, I was.

The same way. I was very superstitious. Pregame what you eat, when you eat everything, you have all routines, getting to the stadium early, like everything had to be tailor.

Just reduces the stress because you gotta, you know, just sitting there, like you said, I can't do anything, so I gotta distract myself.

I get it. I get it. Game breakdown, Jackie.

Like we said earlier, Dirk started cold, Lebron started hot, back and forth all first quarter. Then when I thought was interesting, MAVs got their first double digit lead of the whole series in the second quarter of this one. Was that the whole series, the whole series, back and forth all series and then of course the NBA a game of runs. He'd come back, uh kill that twelve point lead. Then we got a little scuffle before the half,

But when when you're the you know, the favorite saying things aren't going so well, there's always scuffles.

It was Shawn and there mixing it up.

Sean. Shawn's a beast. I mean, I mean, who else has got Abraham Lincoln on their neck?

Now? Now? Forgot about that as an owner when you see these because there's there's a lot of owners that probably say, look at these guys are out there fighting, like does it fire you up? Did it fire you up?

Yeah? Of course?

Or is it like what are we doing? No?

I mean unless it's going to cost us a technical in a close game, right, but Noah gets me fired up. We'll talk quick. Another quick story. When I first bought the team, right We're in Reunion Arena and I hadn't known the team probably ten games, and we we had this thing where if the mav scored one hundred points, everybody in the fan, all the fans in the arena got chaloupa free chiloopas from Taco Bell whatever it was.

But you got to keep the customer happy. They want.

Entrepreneur one on one, Yeah, no stupidity one on one with both of those guys are two fifty and up.

Oh man, so you were always on the you're always on the bench. Yeah, I still do and it's still on the bench.

I just pulled it up from the headline in the Washington Post from the next day, Cuban punished for part in Chiloupa Melee classic.

Oh my God in the Washington Post of all places. Whoa, that's funny as hell. What year was that?

That was from February seventeenth, oh one?

Yeah, right when I bought the team.

Jeloopa Melee. That's Chiloopah Melee. Now, when you're on the sideline or the bench football, like, are you in there? Like are do you? Are you saying anything to the guys? Yeah? Yeah. When coaches got him and he's drawing up a play, are you over there? Well, because like, hey, why don't you let's do this play?

No, but like I'll talk to the guys, Like because the guys who are in the game right, they're focused on the you're not listening to me and I'm not talking to them. But guy just comes out of the game and it's like, hey, you know, just reminder this guy does this or whatever. And guy, I mean, I'm not I don't yell at guys and saying you shocked. Da da da da da. It's always encouraging and positive nine percent of the time.

And then being on the bench, you're like one of the first owners to like get to be involved.

Oh yeah, I'm screaming a yelling.

But the celebration when you guys win, Oh, that's the best part.

Yeah, that's the best part, you know, because when there's like just one possession left, right, nobody just sits on the bench where they're supposed to be. Everybody stands up right at the sidelines right in anticipation of what's going to happen, and everybody's holding their breath and that ball is in the air, and if it misses, it's like ah da da da, see ya da da da, And then.

What goes in I'm sprinting on, I'm getting in that pile on. Absolutely, absolutely, that's the best part.

As a player, that's that's awesome when you see your owner that is that passionate about the team the game win, Like that's what you want to play for, you know, that's that's something that you should you know. Look, I mean, as a player, it's just awesome to see the owner.

It's not even about being the owner. It's just part of the team being a computer, the competitor, right computer. It's just like if you're not in the game as an athlete, it's it's different, but just every inch of my bean is caught up on what's going on in that moment, right There's no Okay, there's another game. There's none of that with me. It's just like every it could be, you know, other than preseason games, game one, game forty, game eighty, whatever it is. I'm all in, yeah, you know, And.

That's a beauty about sport because like with with our face, with our organization, when we won, it wasn't just us winning as players, it was the people that were serving us, the people that were saying as the organization, you know what I mean, the organization, you know, every ladies that are helping you out everyone, but did their job to help us win.

People don't released in the NBA. You lose money. You make more money when you have a bad team than when when you win a championship because you're buying rings for everybody, and those rings were expensive.

I got a few of those bad boys the aftermath. Yeah, take us through the night a live We all have everyone's got a story at liv what by the way, what a great place to win a championship?

Miami? Miami, well especially there are so many MAVs fans that have gone down there that by the end there you know, the chance were let's go MAVs, which was just so much fun. And then Jet was like, we got to go out. We got I'm like, Dirk, yeah, we got to go out, right, So we we wrangled up a party bus somehow some way and went a championship, just won a championship, right, so we're like going to live. I'm like, cool, let's go.

First time there? No no, no, no.

Perfect spot right because I had to scout and so we went and oh boy, it was. It was a night.

What's your best what's your best celebration memory?

Well, the first part was my card getting declined when we went to buy a big bottle of Champlaine champagne. That was insane.

So didn't call the accountant to let him know you're in Miami, a purchase the bottles will get you.

Like I had changed my my MX card for whatever reason, right, and they came up to me like Mark, we've got this huge bottle of ace of Spade, not a Spades whatever it was, and no, it was as Spades and it was like one hundred and forty grand and they're like, do you want it? And Jerk's like, yes, he wants it, and I'm like, okay, yeah, let's get it. And then ten minutes later go buy and there's nothing, and Jerk's like, where is this? Come on, Cubs, where is it. I'm like,

Did you keep that bottle of champagne for?

I wish I had. I wish I had. We gave it to somebody that was there who can at.

Least you know they're protecting you.

Yeah, right, exactly.

Kind of like goddamn airport. You know, you tussle every time you have to go, and you're like, thank god they're checking. Ye. How special was it to get Dirk and Jason Kidd a title for their like.

Really really important because you know, Dirk had just been you know, criticized relentlessly about how he couldn't win the big game.

Yeah, he was like the best player. He had that stigma. He was the best player in the league that couldn't win it, yep.

And so I was happy for him. And Jay Kid was thirty eight, you know, he needed it and wanted it, and they just busted their ass and so yeah, I was happy for.

Both of them. Jason kid coming back.

It was nice.

Yeah, yeah, I mean I'm I'm from the Bay Area and so he's an Oakland was he was a legend. He was, he was a legend. Is Dirk the best euro of all time?

Yeah? Now Jokic is going to be up there with him when it's all said and done. But Dirk, without question, right now is number one guy.

What about Luke?

Luca is going to be there too, for sure. I think Luca has a chance to be a lot better. But it's going to come down to Luca versus Jokic for the best Europeans of all time.

No, you've hit, You've struck. You struck oil twice in your own Like how does that? You know, how does that work that you were you? Is it lucky because you were the first, like Dirk was like really the first European that like dominated. Yeah, and I'm talking about like there was always a couple of.

Good players, yeah, but yeah, but yeah, game changing players. That's just on Dirk, right, Dirk just worked his ass off, just his the amount of effort he put in, like during the season, no sugar, no fried chicken, you know, nothing fried right, no alcohol during the season, and he's just that committed and fortunate. A lot of that now is starting to rub off on Luca and they're really close friends. So it's cool to see.

Is a Jim was very particular? Was engineering.

Nice dry the.

Did the heat live up to the hype?

Yeah? I mean obviously they won. They won again. They won three, I think, Yeah, so more power to them.

That was it was cool to be take him down though, Yeah.

Oh no, Hey, I loved every minute.

That's the best. That's that's insane. Jack. Did we miss anything?

We're pretty good. But I gotta give a little shine to my man Yon me emy buzzer beater in this game.

I saw Yan at the Hall of Fame and Shrineman. Yan hit one of the biggest shots, right Yeah, end of the third quarter, maybe just an elbow jumper like and you could just see the whole arena and the and the Miami bench just the air came out when he was the later. Yeah. And another time he hit like two clutch free throws.

Too underrated guy, ye, Mark. I don't ask much of our guests on here, but this season, could you bring back the MAVs football jersey?

Yeah, I'm just telling you right. The first one is City. I designed those way back and I love those things. That we sold out and then I don't know what happened, and so I had them do it again and I'll have it probably work for the opening game. It's sitting in my closets. Com you guys do like, uh, you know, I love it. You asked that question, Jack.

I'm not trying to like tell you they they they've done those whole social media where the basketball team and the football team they do like they do like a photo op of you know, the Boston Celtics wearing the Boston Patriots that we should do like a we should Dallas Cowboys.

We've done a bunch of stuff.

We've done that.

Yeah, not not quite to that extent, but that's actually a good idea. You know, show support for each other.

It shows support. But I can also see you know, owners and owners of different leagues.

No, Jerry and I get along great.

Yeah, but you guys took it to another level. You put one on the team.

Yeah, that was fun. I'd actually when I met Tony we were playing pickup and he came up to me afterwards. Hey, Mark just wanted to produce myself. I'm the backup quarterback for the Cowboys. I mean, I just thought this guy can hoop, right, he was really good, and I'm like, oh, okay, it's nice to meet you.

And then was he just dishing?

Oh he could score, he could do it all like he was like him and Kron Butler were all all Wisconsin State, all start.

Tony's a stud.

Oh my god, he's a hell of an golf He's a hell of an athlete. It's good, dude.

Now, this is games with names. We like to name the game. This one's for Dirk. Okay, the first one is the sweetest. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

I'd say this one's for Dirk.

This one's for Dirk. This one's for Dirk, kind of like when they remember when Broncos.

Maybe not where you say it, but this one's for Dirk.

Yeah, I like it. We got to score this game. Score the game presented by win Bet.

You got sponsors.

Look at you. You know we'reneurial here. You know we're entrepreneurial. You know I watched this show on one of these TV networks where they.

Sell and pitch and all that stuff.

Taking notes.

Is this presented by win Bet. This is win bet as in wynn Bet.

Yeah, the place in Vegas.

It's in Vegas.

There's one in Vegas. But they also have one in I think Massachusetts and Boston really and it's called win Bet. That's the wind Harbor on Core.

And you can get win bet online. You can you can get have like an app.

We can place bets on apps on anything, sports, We could put anything on anything that Wow.

When they have an app that I can download, you can download it. So if I went to the iPhone store, the app store or the Place store and typed in win bets two ends, wynn Bet, I could download their app.

Yeah, you could download their app, and then you could also book a vacation to one of their beautiful resorts.

One of their beautiful resorts.

There's one in Vegas, there's one in Boston.

So if I was so inclined and I really wanted to change my life, I could go to the app stores on Android or iPhone and download win bed app.

Yeah, I could. I believe they even have it for BlackBerry.

If you have that st no, I'm betting on that. I'll take your money on that one.

Not a fat guy, but just check me. Let's uh, let's let's score the game. The stakes of this game zero to ten? What are the steaks for me? Ten? Ten? Yeah, you can't. I mean you never want to get it to a game seven.

No, No, you never know, because anything's possible.

When you got them down, you break their neck, throw them away, throw them away, star power.

Well, obviously it was the heatles, right, so that was as big as you can get back then.

So and then you guys also had Jason Kid or yeah, of course yead Jet.

So I mean everybody was watching because everybody wanted to see what would happen, and it was you know, I didn't feel bad for him, but it was just like everybody was rooting for us and against the Heat, so we were the underdogs that everybody was rooting for.

So ten ten.

Gameplay probably an eight eight, yeah, because there was some ugliness in the first half, end of the first half, and it wasn't a pretty game until the end. Jet hit a big three from deep Dirk did his left handed layup. Yeah, so I'd say gameplay was it wasn't pretty.

But the name, this one's for Dirk, this one's.

For Dirk, this one's for the dirty Heat defeat.

So what do you think we name it or what do we do? We score it on the name?

Well, the way you said it a six, the way I said I said it at ten? Ten I said it, I mean.

The middle of eight. Should we meet in the middle of eight?

No, let's go ten, Let's go ten. This is this is you. This could score out to the best game we've ever done in the history.

I'm not stupid. It's like, if I give myself low scores, it's never going to score as the best game. But who's at the top of the leader board?

Are you are you? Are you mathematician?

Were you doing I can add, I can add an average.

Ye, where's it? Where's the line up? Jackie?

This is taking the number one spot, number one, beating the eighteen and one Patriots Giant super.

Bowl eighteen and one giant loss.

Anything to not make that number one. I'm happy with.

I am too too well, Mark cubes Cube, whatever you want me, whatever, whatever you want me to call you, just don't call me late for dinner. I appreciate you coming on. This is awesome. It's great to have a conversation. Anything for me. Let me know, win bet, win bet and pH water and then we have one more thing, one more thing. I was actually, you know, I know you're an owner of a National Basketball Association team. I was hit up by a team in Jerusalem, Israel. They

I don't know. Do they make any money? There's your answers, there's your answer, unless you want to go. I mean it's fun to be able to say, you know, I own this team and you know, go over there and hang out and for a little bit. Yeah, it'd be fun. It depends how much money they want from you.

Yeah, yeah, that's perfect. Oh and please oh yeah.

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Well, everybody's got something right, So like guys my age, they're all looking for like generic sialis. Yeah, and I don't I have n't checked my price, but you know, my friends tell me that you can get like ninety generic five milligram cialis for eight bucks plus shipping.

What does that do? I don't know.

They just tell me that it's useful.

I've never heard of that kind of stuff for our women listeners.

But they tell me they like put it right next to their bed like Eminem's and it's beneficial. I don't know. Maybe their wives put it there, I don't know, or girlfriends, happy wife, happy life always.

Thanks Mark, you got it. Well, that was pretty pretty cool.

Our first owner, a billionaire own I know what a cool guy rolled.

Up just chilling by himself, by.

Himself, no entourage, no handlers.

What a guy, billionaire just rolling up by himself nothing.

That was so cool.

Sweatsuit chilling. I'm picking. I don't care, I just care. He just he just he just got that. What's the cheapest top ten business school?

I'm going there, Indiana, sign me up.

And sign me up. That's he was a cool dude, cool guy. The Chiloopa story was.

Amazing, causing mayhem for Chiloopa's.

Patriots ever do something like that, like a Papa Gino's or something, you get a sliceos.

I don't remember off top. We gotta do some digging on that one, but I remember that.

Wasn't that our pizza for a while was a Papa Gino? I think it was. They may have changed it though they used to be in the stadium.

No, wouldn't our guy, Our guy, Sammy Biggers was in Papa Gino's commercials for a little while advertisements, Yes, Sam, Sam Biggers.

Wow, Oh D'Angelo sorry DiAngelo Sandwich. I always drove by one and never got it. Thought about it though. I feel that, you know, I feel that. Can we talk about our scoring system?

Yeah, for today's post game segment, post interview segment, we're gonna take a little breather and revisit the scoring segment, sort of have a a state of the Union. Come to Jesus if you will, on the way we've been scoring these games. Because we talk about him with all the guests and they can see the rankings and it's they're all over the board, all over them.

I mean it's it's Mark came in and Brick is our integrity.

Mark came in and was given tens all over and we're not gonna argue with Mark, Like.

Yeah, argue Mark.

He can't argue with Mark cuban in. I mean, no matter what house you're in, he's in our house. But we'll let him cook. But that means we gotta take a little step back every now and again. Look at some of these.

He just cooks and he leaves. Who's fucking doing the dishes? We are?

We are putting your game number one overall over the brand ski in Peterson. Come on, man, I think we're in and within this number one number one that put it out smart.

See that tells me he's a marketing guy because he knows how big games with names is and he wants us right at the top. So every time we to talk about his team, every place's just doing chess when we're doing I'm playing like over checkers.

Yeah, I'm a part of me is over here happy like oh fucking eighteen one gets dethroned, but now it's like, oh my god, twenty eleven finals, Dirk like the dirty dirty dirt getting one that's so whack and and Kyler, I think who who we know is is all over these and is calculating and running the show over here like this. This is a stuck in Kyler's crawl, Like you wouldn't believe game play looking through this list.

Ten I'm beside myself and I won't be silenced any longer. This segment needs a hard look at the mirror, just like just look at this list the Iron Man match.

These are scripted.

This is a fake situation. It's not scripted.

I know, we love the ww it's not scripted.

Michael's is the best, but that's better than the nineteen ninety nine Women's World Cup or the twenty eight and three Patriots Falcons super are you are?

We are?

We just gonna stand idly by and like just stand by this list. And I don't I don't have any answers. I just can see the problem. So maybe we need to like not cho and then like, also, okay, Pro Bowl at the end that I think that's the best ranking we have. The Pro Bowl is at the very end. That's fine, But like, what.

Do how it stars?

We've got We've got the Titans and Rams, Super Bowl? What is that thirty thirty four that with Kurt Warner that's over the statue of Liberty Game, which is probably the greatest game of all time. I'll stand on the table for.

That statue of Liberty Game. Zimbranski, Zibranski greatest game. It was an exciting game. So was that the year after the USC Texas or before.

After USC is two thousand and five. That this game is two thousand and seven, So two years after, two years.

After, because that's when Boise State they were playing. Maybe they were they were doing. Those are some fun Bowl games, those that those that five years that so fun. I mean I think it's because I played in those years.

I mean I was in college in those years too, So it does have extra value.

But with that USC game, we gotta get, we gotta do. We haven't done that yet. It's in the mix liners. I mean, all we gotta do is bring a bag of Wendy's in. He'll come in. See him on all the goddamn commercials. Come on, Wendy.

What can we do to make this segment productive?

Like? What are some soft square patties because you cut corners?

I think Kyler raises a good point and in wanting to put in a little bit of a system, see I think last year or In our past episodes, we would wait until the guest was gone. Now the guest is here. We were being what I'm trying to say, we're being very hospitable.

Yes, there he is.

And this hospitality is leading to a little bit of a downfall in the scoring system, in the integrity of it. I think because they are.

It's gone.

I mean, it's a joke. I mean, I don't harp too much on it because I like the stories, like the friendships we make, and I like the memories we get to unearth on this show. I don't I don't worry about.

Numbers, but.

We do gotta.

It is a it's a fundamental.

Part it is. So I don't know. So here's my solution. What do we do?

So we we have a hotline. Now, we've got a phone you can call in. It's not live, but we've got a voice message four two four two nine one two two nine zero.

Uh.

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, leave a message, keep it under a minute. Leave some message, Leave leave some ideas. I think we're open to hearing. I mean, maybe we just do an episode where no guests and we just take a cold shower. Look at this list and maybe rescore some games, or maybe we know who we are and maybe we we we change some stuff. But I'm I think let's have the best idea when here, let's see what the fans have to say.

Why don't we bring up a fan a fan episode episode Real Scorrologist.

Yeah, go through this thing line by line, do a little audit, crack open the books.

Yeah, kind of like the ol I R S. Yeah, we're gonna we're gonna hire fifty thousand more. So we're gonna do guys, you're gonna come in. We're coming for justice on this case.

No stone left unturned and you can leave your message of under one minute at four two four two nine one two nine zero.

Wow, that was another great episode of Games with names of Mark Cuban. Hell yeah, man, that's pretty cool to have Mark Cuban in our our clubhouse. Man.

Yeah, it's just like in the team issued sweats.

What a beast team issue saves his money?

I like it smart.

We're spending all that money, you know, where does he gonna make it?

You better us?

Episode?

Geez?

Yeah, we need to get some for the wall. Remember, guys, follow Games with Names on YouTube, Instagram x TikTok and Snapchat. We'll see you next week, guys. Games with Names is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.