Mark Cuban Reveals His Biggest NBA Draft Misses with Mavs in New Video
Every NBA team would surely love to have Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tyrese Maxey on the roster, and Mark Cuban understandably wishes the Dallas Mavericks didn't pass on them in the NBA draft.
"There's so many of them," Cuban said when asked who his biggest "misses" were during an appearance on The Adam Friedland Show (58-minute mark). "Tyrese Maxey was a big miss for us recently. Greek Freak was probably the biggest."
While Cuban still owns a minority stake in the Mavericks, he sold his majority stake in 2023.
To be fair to Cuban and the Mavericks, they weren't the only team to miss on Antetokounmpo and Maxey.
The Milwaukee Bucks selected Antetokounmpo with the No. 15 overall pick of the 2013 NBA draft, which was two picks after Dallas chose Kelly Olynyk at No. 13. Olynyk wasn't even really the Mavericks' pick, as he ended up with the Boston Celtics as part of a draft-day trade.
That entire 2013 draft was dominated by misses, as Victor Oladipo (No. 2 overall) was the only player chosen before Antetokounmpo who has made an All-Star Game. Anthony Bennett went No. 1 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while players such as Otto Porter Jr. (No. 3), Cody Zeller (No. 4), Alex Len (No. 5) and many more failed to live up to expectations.
Rudy Gobert went No. 27 overall but would likely go second in a redraft behind Antetokounmpo.
As for Maxey, he went No. 21 overall in 2020 to the Philadelphia 76ers. It was quite the steal for Philadelphia seeing how he is a two-time All-Star and one of the franchise cornerstones.
He is also one of five players in that draft to make an All-Star Game alongside Anthony Edwards (No. 1), LaMelo Ball (No. 3), Deni Avdija (No. 9) and Tyrese Haliburton (No. 12) in a class that looks much better overall than the 2013 one in hindsight.
Dallas took Josh Green at No. 18 three picks before the 76ers ended up with Maxey. Green played four seasons for the Mavericks and averaged 6.4 points per game as a role player.
Things would surely look much different for Dallas if it had either Antetokounmpo or Maxey on the roster. It has since traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers and sits at 21-44 overall this season.
However, it also appeared to make the right decision when it selected Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall in the 2025 NBA draft, so there is at least a franchise cornerstone in place to build around moving forward.
