Mark Cuban admits Mavericks tanked at end of season

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban admitted that the team lost on purpose after they were eliminated from playoff contention this season.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban admitted that the team lost on purpose after they were eliminated from playoff contention this season.

Cuban appeared on "The Dan Patrick Show" on Wednesday and says Dallas went into full-tank mode once they realized they were not going to the postseason.

"Once we were eliminated from the playoffs, we did everything possible to lose games," Cuban said.

Cuban says players weren't the ones tanking.

"Once a guy walks on the court, they're going to play their heart out," Cuban said. "Particularly the young guys because they have something to prove."

Dallas finished with a 33–49 record and lost five of their last seven games to close out the regular season.

Cuban also did not have good things to say about the NBA draft lottery. Dallas will have the ninth pick in next month's draft.

"It works well enough, I guess," Cuban said. "It obviously creates some misincentives toward the end of the season for teams that aren't going to make the playoffs. Until you come up with a better solution, that's what we've got."