Mark Cuban Talks Importance of Social Media for Luka Doncic, LeBron, NBA Stars

Dallas Mavericks governor Mark Cuban joined Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman on ESPN's First Take and discussed the importance of social media for the NBA and its stars (5:20 mark).

His comments came in response to a question from Smith suggesting the NBA is in a better place if a major-market team like the Los Angeles Lakers is the defending champion and in the spotlight.

Cuban believes the interest in the league is based more off the social media interactions its players can have with fans than where certain high-profile teams are located: 

"The players are becoming more key to awareness and interest from younger kids, Gen Z, than even the teams are. So, we've got to pay special attention to more about how strong is LeBron's social media game—which is very strong—and how strong is Luka's social media game, which is even stronger than LeBron's, OK, I said it."

In addition to giving his team's star player a shout-out for his social media use, Cuban touched on some of the ways the league can attract more fans when television ratings numbers are under the spotlight.

Cuban said television isn't the only way the league draws fans in, which is notable because he has sparred with people such as Sen. Ted Cruz about ratings in the past.