‘Ton of Upside’: Why Mark Cuban Bought Into a Canadian Basketball Team
Mark Cuban would buy back the Mavericks if he could, but he can’t . Instead, he’s invested in the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. The size of the stake and how much he paid were not disclosed.
Cuban, who still owns a stake of roughly 27% in the Mavericks, tells Front Office Sports via email that Canada is a “powerhouse” when it comes to producing top basketball talent. He says there’s “huge appetite for sports and basketball” in Canada. “I think there is a ton of upside,” he tells FOS .
While much of the discussion about global basketball has centered around the rise in European stars like Luka Dončić and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Cuban says “Canada is producing more stars than any other country. ” He has a point. There are many Canadian players who have recently achieved success in the NBA, the most prominent of whom is reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder.
Others include Jamal Murray of the Nuggets, RJ Barrett of the Raptors, Andrew Wiggins of the Heat, and Dillon Brooks of the Suns. Canada is brimming with basketball talent, Cuban says, but with only one Canadian NBA team in the Raptors, those players need somewhere to play. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and played its debut season in 2019.
It describes itself as “ a league created by Canadians for Canadians. ” It has 10 teams across six provinces, and roughly 73% of its players are Canadian. Last season, the league says it featured more than 15 players with experience playing in the NBA.