“Nash Hated Me for a Long Time”: Dallas Mavericks’ Owner Mark Cuban Reveals His Biggest Mistake

Published 11/02/2020, 8:30 AM EST

In the 1996 NBA draft, the Phoenix Suns selected Steve Nash, only to let him walk away after two seasons. The Dallas Mavericks pounced on that opportunity and then paired him with a rookie Dirk Nowitzki. And within a couple of seasons, they showed promise.

Despite the duo excelling together, they couldn’t go beyond the Western Conference Finals in 2003. So after a first-round exit in the following season, the Mavs decided against bringing back Nash. But owner Mark Cuban recently admitted how much he regrets that decision.

Cuban said, “That’s my biggest mistake ever. Not even close, my biggest mistake ever. He had been injured the year before and his minutes were declining, and our doctor was like, ‘He may have some issues.’ And coach [Don Nelson] was like, ‘He may have some issues.’ So we made him what we thought was a great offer, but then Phoenix came in and just beat that offer… Nash hated me for a long time because of it… We’re good now.”

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On @EtanThomas36's "The Rematch," Mark Cuban (@mcuban) said that he regrets letting Steve Nash leave the Mavericks to sign with the Suns.
"That's my biggest mistake ever. Not even close, it's my biggest mistake ever. Nash hated me for a long time because of it. We're good now." pic.twitter.com/diIn2vMZdj
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) October 31, 2020

After six seasons with Dallas, Nash then returned to the Suns. In this second stint at Phoenix, Nash won two MVPs, but he never managed to win a title.

Steve Nash Opens up on Reuniting with Mike D’Antoni at Brooklyn Nets

Would the Nash – Nowitzki duo have won the title for the Dallas Mavericks?

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Back in 2019, Nash said that the Mavs would have won a title if he was still playing on the team. He said:

“Would we have won a championship? Of course. Why not? I mean, you never know. Keeping me in Dallas wouldn’t have really affected their salary cap situation. They still would have been able to bring in the other guys they brought in, for the most part. I think it would have been interesting.”

While this is just speculation, having two MVP caliber players on the team is always deadly. Had Nash been with the team for that 2011 run, the Mavs would have certainly been stronger. They may have even been able to win a title or two more.

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In their six seasons together, Nowitzki and Nash were one of the most entertaining duos in the league. There have been many guard-big man duos in the league, but no other duo had the shooting ability that these two had. This is yet another addition to the ‘what ifs’ list of the NBA.

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Aaron Mathew is a sports analyst at EssentiallySports. A graduate in Mass Media from Xavier’s College, Aaron has been a part of EssentiallySports since May 2020 where he covers both NBA and NCAA basketball news, and has also covered NBA 2K. In the past, Aaron has worked at the Sports Desk of Mumbai Mirror.

“Nash Hated Me for a Long Time”: Dallas Mavericks’ Owner Mark Cuban Reveals His Biggest Mistake

Would the Nash – Nowitzki duo have won the title for the Dallas Mavericks?

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