Years Before Fueling $6.15 Billion Empire, Dirk Nowitzki and Mark Cuban?s Decade-Long Bromance Started Off With Pinching Rejection

The only constant in the Dallas Mavericks for the past 23 years is Mark Cuban. He has witnessed all the highs and the lows, and he had one friend on his side through it all. The Mavericks defied all odds and won the NBA championship in 2011, and the man who led the charge was Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk played his entire career with the Mavs, and during his time, he shared some of his wisdom with the $6.15 billion-rich owner of the team.

Mark Cuban always considered Dirk to be a close friend rather than a player. The words he received from Dirk changed not only how Mark Cuban looked at the game but also his vision off the court.

Dirk Nowitzki’s words helped Mark Cuban

During a recent interview with GQ, Mark Cuban was asked what he learned after being around athletes for so long. He replied that Dirk Nowitzki said something to him that has stuck with him.

Cuban said that Dirk told him, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” These nine words from Dirk meant a lot to Cuban and have taught him a great deal.

Mark Cuban, who is a billionaire and has engineered major deals in his life, now knows exactly what it means. It means never going for shortcuts and cutting corners. So both on and off the court, Cuban is carefully noting who is ready to consistently give it their all.

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If someone is not willing to put their all into the little things in their lives, then they won’t put their all into the big things in their lives either.
Cuban and Dirk are extremely close friends. But their first interaction was way back in 2000, and it was a rejection.

Mark Cuban’s first interaction with Dirk Nowitzki

In 1999, Mark Cuban sold his company, Broadcast.com, to Yahoo for 5.7 billion dollars. The following year, Cuban decided to purchase the Dallas Mavericks for 285 million dollars. This turned out to be one of his best investments because, as of 2023, the team is worth a whopping 3.3 billion dollars.

The day before Cuban was announced as the new owner of the team, he and his friend went out to have some drinks. That’s when he ran into Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki. He offered to buy them drinks, but they rejected him. That was his first experience with the big man, but over the next 19 years till his retirement, Cuban and Dirk became extremely good friends.

From denying a drink over 20 years ago, to becoming fast friends who always looked out for each other, these two have had a long and fruitful friendship.

What do you think about Mark and Dirk’s friendship? Let us know in the comments below!

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