Mavericks Minority Owner Mark Cuban Suggests Controversial NBA Rule Change

Could this be the fix that the NBA is looking for?

Nov 6, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban during the first half against the Chicago Bulls at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The NBA world was set on fire late this week after a few of the suggestions they're using to try to combat tanking were revealed. ESPN's Shams Charania tweeted three of them, and they all looked like disasters.

Everyone criticized the ideas, including Bill Simmons, who suggested shortening the season to 72 games, but Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban had a different idea: shorten the games [edited slightly for grammatical reasons].

"Make the games 40 minutes," Cuban suggested. "8 x 82 / 48 =13.667. That’s the equivalent number of games you would reduce the schedule by. Without breaking arena leases. Works for college. Works for international. Works for the WNBA.
AND.
If you look at TV and streaming ratings, the less the actual playing time for a televised game, the bigger the ratings. I.E., the less time fans have to focus on a game, the more they enjoy watching it on TV."

Make the games 40 minutes.

8 x 82 / 48 =13.667 That’s the equivalent number of games you would reduce the schedule by. Without breaking arena leases.

Works for college. Works for international. Works for the WNBA.

AND.

If you looking at tv and streaming ratings,… https://t.co/GXWNcMtaJT

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) March 28, 2026

This would solve a few issues. 82 games does feel too long, but it doesn't make sense to shorten the season because of the history attached to the NBA and 82 games. It would become much harder for teams and players to break a record, and that's something the league cares about. The more a player can chase history, the more exposure the league gets, as we saw with Bam Adebayo's 83-point game.

Cutting the season by the number of games would impact a lot of things: arena contracts, player contracts, TV deals, and more. Cutting the games by the minutes played shouldn't impact any of that, and it would save some wear and tear on bodies. It also increases the likelihood of a close game if there isn't as much time for it to become a blowout late. Sure, we do see a lot of late comebacks, too, but a shorter game would hve fans more invested.

Jan 28, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Mark Cuban watches the game between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Downside to Mark Cuban's Proposal

The NBA has always played games of 48 minutes, making it another historical thing to change that they may not want. It also doesn't really help fix tanking, which was the basis of this idea, but it may fix load management.

Anything is better than the rules the league has proposed and will vote on to fix tanking, but it'll have to be something outside of what Cuban proposed as well. Plus, the Dallas Mavericks are one of many teams trying to tank right now. Cuban has no incentive to try to fix it.

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