Is Mark Cuban tired of so much basketball? The minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks is considered one of the most progressive minds in American sports; however, his latest proposal suggests he no longer wants to watch as much basketball.
For many years, Cuban has been a leading figure among NBA team owners. Even now, after selling most of his stake in the Mavs, his presence is still felt.
With Commissioner Adam Silver embroiled in a fight against the infamous tanking and with hundreds of proposals on the table, Cuban decided to take one of them and give it a twist in his own unique style.
Instead of focusing on preventing teams from intentionally losing games to improve their draft position, Cuban preferred to focus his efforts on fan engagement with the sport.
Mark Cuban’s bold proposal
This Sunday, the controversial businessman shared a post from X (formerly Twitter) in which analyst Bill Simmons proposes reducing the season to just 72 games to avoid tanking.
Cuban responded to the post by giving the proposal an unexpected twist:
Make the games 40 minutes.
Cuban’s reasoning is that by cutting minutes from each game, the season is effectively shortened without sacrificing the number of games.
8 x 82 / 48 = 13,667. That’s the equivalent number of games you would reduce the schedule by. Without breaking arena leases.
Moreover, as Cuban pointed out, every other league in the world uses that format:
Works for college. Works for international. Works for the WNBA.
Cuban is focused on ratings, not tanking.
The priority for the Mavs’ minority owner is maintaining viewership levels. “If you look at TV and streaming ratings, the less actual playing time for a televised game, the bigger the ratings.”
It seems Cuban doesn’t trust the fans’ ability to concentrate. “In other words, the less time the fans have to focus on a game, the more they enjoy watching it on TV.”
Although it’s unlikely that Cuban’s or Simmons’ proposals will gain traction in the short term, a growing number of voices believe that a shorter season would be beneficial, each for their own reasons.
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