Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban is probably the most recognizable owner in the NBA and maybe all of professional sports. With his cheery, enthusiastic attitude, he is just one of the fans.

Cuban is an enthusiastic NBA owner who, instead of being a faceless front-office type, is his team's biggest and most vocal fan. When Mark Cuban purchased the Dallas Mavericks on January 14, 2000, the face of the organization began to change immediately. Once again Mavericks games had a party atmosphere as Reunion Arena rocked with the return of the "Reunion Rowdies." Mavericks games became more than just ordinary NBA games - they were a total entertainment experience. Cuban was not only successful at instilling a sense of pride and passion into Mavericks fans by presenting himself as the ultimate role model by cheering from the same seats he had in years past, but he also became the first owner in team sports to encourage fan interaction through e-mail on his personal computer. It was through this personal touch that fans throughout the Metroplex, and around the world, began to notice Cuban's energetic personality and take notice of the Mavericks. He has personally responded to thousands of emails, and several suggestions from fans have led to innovative changes such as a new three-sided shot clock, which allows line of site to the 24-second clock from anywhere in the arena.

Cuban's whatever-it-takes attitude and commitment to winning has everyone's attention. From his first introduction to the team to the end of his first season as owner, the players responded with a 31-19 record, including a 9-1 mark in April 2000. In addition to hiring special coaches for offense, defense and shooting, Cuban has promised to do everything in his power to improve the tea...

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...tent. In the distributed networking industry, Cuban in a partner in RedSwoosh—a company that enhances the coordination of distributing networking (i.e. helps content providers deliver rich media, including video and software to a user's PC).

Cuban is not only loved by fans around the world, but players from the NBA want to play for his team. He spoils his players with PS2s and flat screens in the locker rooms, along with flying on a first-class jet to road games. It has been jokingly said that after games, players from the other teams come and ask Cuban when he will sign them to play for the Mavericks. Cuban has been an entrepreneur in several ways. Not only did he have great ideas for MicroSolutions and Broadcast.com, but also he found the necessary resources to implement his ideas and allow them to work. This resulted in him allowing to cash out in a BIG way.