If anyone wants to see a manifesto on tanking in the NBA, they need to go to Mark Cuban’s posts on February 17, 2026. The self-sabotage phase of the NBA is back but this time the critics aka the fans aren’t here for it. They’re calling on Adam Silver to stop the teams’ deliberate antics. But the people on the other side of tanking culture might have a different viewpoint on it. Like Mark Cuban.

He’s not the main shotcaller of the Dallas Mavericks anymore. If rumors are to be believed, he might be trying to re-buy his ownership stake too. But he’s now back within the basketball operations of the team since Nico Harrison got the axe. And if fans thought he’d be different from Harrison’s own saboteur tactics to get Cooper Flagg, they were mistaken.

He started off a thread on X.com with an essay on, “Why the NBA should embrace tanking.” In a very emotional (and riddled with typos he later apologized for) retelling of his NBA ownership story, he wrote. “The NBA has [late] been misguided thinking that fans want to see their teams compete every night with a chance to win. It’s never been that way.”

He argued that the league is not in the basketball business, but the “experience” business. “What fans that care about their team’s record want is hope… The one way to get closer to that is via the draft. And trades. And cap room. You have a better chance of improving via all 3, when you tank.”

Cuban then made the bold claim that this strategy was the decisive factor behind his greatest roster move: “It got us to where we could improve, trade up to get Luka and improve our team.”

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However, while Cuban attempted to use the acquisition of Luka Doncic as the ultimate “success story” for strategic losing, eagle-eyed fans were quick to point out some inconsistencies in that narrative.

Mark Cuban’s tanking defense missed the facts

After his introductory ‘tanking’ essay, Cuban doubled down on his opinion in response to fan comments. He had claimed that the Mavericks have purposely lost games “only a few times.”

He described one instance, “The young players will always play their hearts out. We had one game when we were tanking for Luka, it was close against the Grizzlies. We are down 3. We have the last [possession]. Salah Mejri hits 3 to send it to OT. Mavs win. We end up with the 3rd worst record. Fall to 5. Have to give up a first to get up to 3 to get Luka.”

In response, critics were quick to revisit the 2017-2018 season, where the Mavericks finished with a dismal 24-58 record. A commenter pointed out, “The Mavs lost all 5 OT games they played during the 2017-2018 season and Mejri was 0-3 on 3PA the entire season? I get your point though.”

As the commenter pointed out, the issue with Cuban’s story is that Mejri’s career record from the 3-point line is zero. In 2017-18, he had not hit a single three. Cuban later corrected that the game he was refering to was in the 2016-17 season. Then that wouldn’t factor into getting Luka Doncic in the 2018 draft.

Also, his similar comments in 2018 got him fined $600,000 by the league. The Shark Tank star actually admitted today he’s paid upwards of $1.2 million in tanking fines. So clearly the NBA’s opinion on tanking from when Doncic got drafted to fining the Pacers and Jazz today hasn’t changed.

Despite the factual errors, Cuban’s broader message hit a nerve. Teams have admitted they’re willing to pay the fines if they can get a generational talent like Luka Doncic. And if the 2026 draft class is as deep as it’s said to be, Adam Silver will have to dish out a lot more fines.