Mark Cuban reflects on mistakes made with Mavericks in 'worst draft' in NBA history

Mark Cuban was a little ambitious in his first time as an owner.

Nov 16, 2009; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban yells from behind the bench during the second quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Dallas Mavericks fans are probably missing Mark Cuban as their majority owner currently. He sold a large share of the team in December of 2023, and 14 months later, Luka Doncic had been traded from the Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Cuban made some mistakes in his first year as an owner, too, even if they weren't to the magnitude of trading away Doncic. Instead, he just ended up with a lot of first-round picks in the 2000 NBA Draft.

“I remember my first year, I bought three number one picks in the 2000 draft,” Cuban said to Yahoo! Sports. “And it ended up being the worst draft in the history of the NBA. I was young, you know, I'm competitive. And I just wanted to come in and have an impact… That ego, that competitiveness, can work against you.

“You come in, you're successful at your business, and you think to yourself, ‘I'm smart. I'm good… I took this business and grew it to whatever put me in a position to buy this team. So, I'm going to stick with what works for me.' And that's what got me in trouble with the NBA a lot when I first came in, because I'm like, ‘I'm not gonna change for them. This is what works.' But that ego… also makes you over-confident to a certain extent.”

“I was young. … I’m competitive and I just wanted to come in and have an impact.”@mcuban tells @richkleiman how he had to change the way he conducted business after he purchased the Mavericks. pic.twitter.com/UaxszLSAyb

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 26, 2025

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The Calamity That Was the 2000 NBA Draft

It's not even really debatable about the 2000 NBA Draft being the worst ever, at least in the modern draft era. There were a combined three All-Star Game appearances from this draft class, the lowest since 1952, and only one All-NBA appearance, which came from a second-round pick.

The Dallas Mavericks ended up with the rights to the 12th, 13th, and 22nd picks in the draft, taking Etan Thomas, Courtney Alexander, and Donnell Harvey. Those three combined to play 74 games in Dallas. Thomas never even suited up for the team, missing his entire rookie season with injury before he was traded to the Washington Wizards. If there was one draft to go all in on, it was certainly not the 2000 NBA Draft.

READ MORE: Mark Cuban won't let Dirk Nowitzki be lost to NBA history

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