Mark Cuban purchases stake in new basketball team after admitting ‘regret’ over Dallas Mavericks sale

The Dallas Mavericks were transformed under Mark Cuban’s ownership.

The businessman – worth an estimated $6 billion in 2026 – took the Mavericks from the pits of NBA mediocrity and developed them into a title-winning outfit when he purchased them for $285 million in 2000.

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Cuban wound up selling his majority shares in the team to Patrick Dumont and Miriam Adelson for $3.5 billion in 2023, leaving him with a 27 percent stake.

It is a decision that he appears to have come to regret.

“If there was any chance of being able to do that anymore, I would,” Cuban told Front Office Sports in May, when asked whether he wanted to buy the team back. “But that’s just not the game anymore.

“A bunch of people had contacted me. They weren’t happy with the way things were, and I was like, ‘Look, if you can get them to sell, I’ll be more than happy to contribute my equity etc. and help.’

“But I didn’t expect that to materialize. I told them that I didn’t think it would happen, that I didn’t think the Adelsons had any interest in selling. And, they don’t.”

Following Cuban’s sale of his stake in the Mavericks, Dallas would go on to stun the NBA when they traded their franchise star Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis – a player who they have since already moved on from.

The decision to trade the Slovenian superstar in his prime, just a year removed from him having led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals, was one which many struggled to fathom, including Cuban.

It was also a decision which cost then-general manager Nico Harrison his job, although the Mavericks’ luck did strike when they landed the No. 1 overall pick for the 2025 NBA Draft, which they used to land generational talent Cooper Flagg.

Cuban purchases stake in CEBL team

With the Mavericks now firmly in the past, Cuban has since eyed a new basketball team, with reports emerging from FOS that he has purchased an ownership stake in the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

Details surrounding the deal, including the size of the stake and the cost, have not been disclosed.

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“I think there is a ton of upside,” he told FOS of investing in Canadian basketball.

“Canada is producing more stars than any other country,” he added, while calling it a “powerhouse”.

While there is certainly an emergence of European talent in the NBA, Canada have produced a plethora of elite-level players over the years, most notably reigning NBA champion and MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Then there’s the likes of Hall of Famer Steve Nash, three-time NBA champion Rick Fox, and current stars Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Andrew Wiggins, Dillon Brooks and more.

“Cuban’s deal to buy into the Honey Badgers doesn’t come out of nowhere. Al Whitley, CEO of the Honey Badgers, previously worked for the Mavericks, including in front office roles, for nearly 22 years,” Ben Horney wrote in his report for FOS.

The CEBL was founded in 2017, and had its inaugural season in 2019.

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The league describes itself as “created by Canadians for Canadians,” with the Toronto Raptors serving as the country’s lone NBA representative.

The league has 10 teams across six provinces, with each team playing 24 regular season games, and up to five playoff games. Fifteen players from the CEBL made their way onto an NBA roster in 2025.

The Honey Badgers’ 2026 campaign gets underway on May 15 against the Ottawa Blackjacks.

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