Mark Cuban believes the NBA risks losing sight of what makes professional basketball valuable beyond its growing business. The Dallas Mavericks minority owner has questioned the league’s increasing focus on franchise valuations, arguing that affordability, community, and the experience of attending games should remain central to its priorities.
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“But I just think if a professional sports league is not thinking about fans, keeping it affordable, and again, community and all those things, then it really backfires,” Cuban said on the first-guest appearance on The Jameis Winston Show.
Cuban shared his perspective while discussing his involvement with Harbinger Fund, an investment group focused on acquiring minority stakes in professional sports teams. Drawing from his experience with the Mavericks, he explained why providing liquidity to smaller stakeholders is important. However, he expressed reservations about large private equity groups acquiring interests in franchises.
Mavs Minority Owner explained that he became involved with Harbinger Fund because minority owners can struggle to sell their stakes in professional sports franchises, even when they want to access the value of their investments.
“And I think Harbinger Fund does a great job of doing that right and giving liquidity to somebody who maybe inherited one percent of a team from their aunt, their uncle, whoever,” he explained.
He described helping these minority owners find liquidity as a positive development. His concern is with larger private equity groups acquiring interests in teams and the potential impact on how ownership groups approach their franchises.
The NBA’s approach to private-equity investment also has a connection to Commissioner Adam Silver. In December 2019, Silver confirmed that the league was exploring an NBA-specific investment vehicle that would allow private-equity firms to purchase minority interests across multiple franchises. The proposal was part of a broader discussion about creating liquidity for investors and attracting institutional capital into team ownership.
The league has since expanded its rules to accommodate institutional investment. Effective December 3, 2025, investment firms were allowed to hold stakes in up to eight NBA teams, up from the previous limit of five. Individual funds remain limited to a 20% stake in a franchise, while institutional investors can collectively own no more than 30% of a team. The changes reflect the NBA’s growing openness to private-equity investment.
For Cuban, the bigger issue is how this business evolution affects the people attending games. Reflecting on his time with the Mavericks, he recalled how conversations within the NBA gradually shifted from improving the spectator experience to increasing franchise valuations.
He remembered discussions about making games affordable, creating a better experience for families, and making basketball more engaging for children. Over time, he felt the focus increasingly moved toward raising the financial value of teams.
Cuban acknowledged that he had personally benefited from rising valuations. However, he believes prioritizing them changes the way decision-makers approach the business.
“But at the same time, if the focus goes purely to increasing valuation, that’s a completely different thought process than how do we make a parent bring in their 10-year-old and 8-year-old have a good time?” he said.
Cuban also believes that maintaining the relationship between a franchise and its community should not be left entirely to individual teams. He recalled how he viewed the supporters of Dallas during his time with the organization.
“I used to say all the time, I may be responsible for the bills of the Mavs, but every Mavs fan around the world are the true owners of the Mavs, and it’s how they feel that matters,” Cuban said.
He also explained why larger ownership acquisitions could make that connection more difficult.
“And I think private equity by majority interest, or being part of an acquisition, I think that makes that more difficult,” Cuban added.
For Cuban, the people who support a team should remain central to decisions about its future, even as the business behind the NBA continues to grow.