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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. Examples of players who have played in both the NBA and CEBL are Jalen Harris and A.J. Lawson.
Cuban’s deal to buy into the Honey Badgers doesn’t come out of nowhere. Al Whitley, CEO of the Honey Badgers, previously worked for the Mavericks, including in front office roles, for nearly 22 years. Whitley was hired by Cuban, who says he has also “done business” with the majority owner of the Honey Badgers, Leonard Asper, “for a long time.” One example of that came in 2019, when Cuban sold a majority stake in HDNet LLC, parent of U.S. TV networks AXS TV and HDNet Movies, to Asper’s media company Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Cuban remained an equity partner in the business as part of that deal.
The 2026 CEBL season is about to begin. The Honey Badgers season tips off Friday, May 15 against the Ottawa BlackJacks. Each team plays 24 regular season games, followed by up to five playoff games. The championship this year will be a best-of-three series taking place between Aug. 12 and Aug. 16, representing the first multigame playoff series since the league’s formation.
Some games will be available on CBC TV, which is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. All games are available to stream online for free.
