Abbie Parr / AP, file
The Dallas Mavericks pose for a team photograph after a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the NBA’s Western Conference finals Thursday, May 30, 2024, in Minneapolis. The Mavericks won 124-103, taking the series 4-1 and moving on to the NBA Finals.
Monday, June 3, 2024 | 6:22 p.m.
No, America, Mark Cuban no longer is the Mavericks’ majority shareholder. Yes, fans around the world, that in fact was someone else accepting the Western Conference championship trophy last Thursday night in Minneapolis.
His name, as most Mavericks fans in North Texas know, is Patrick Dumont. He has been the Mavericks’ governor since Dec. 27, when his mother-in-law Miriam Adelson purchased majority interest of the franchise from Cuban.
To date the only extensive interview that Dumont has given is to The Dallas Morning News in February, but a visibly elated Dumont briefly spoke again to The News after his team punched its ticket to the NBA Finals with the Game 5 victory in Minneapolis.
Was it an unbelievable feeling for Dumont to be accepting the Oscar Robertson Western Conference championship trophy, barely five months after his family’s purchase of the franchise?
“No, because this team is incredible,” he said. “This is a great group of athletes. They work very hard. They’re competitors. They fight. They’re really focused. They want to win. It’s a great, great group. It’s exciting to watch.”
Cuban kept a 27% share of the franchise and has said he maintained operational control of the Mavericks’ basketball side.
But when the Mavericks announced on the eve of the second round of the playoffs that coach Jason Kidd received a contract extension, it was Dumont and general manager Nico Harrison who were quoted in the news release.
Throughout the playoffs, national TV cameras often have paused on Cuban, getting his reaction to key plays and referee calls. In that since, it’s understandable why many fans outside of North Texas still associate Cuban as a face of the franchise that he purchased in January of 2000.
During and immediately after Thursday night’s trophy presentation, during which TNT’s Ernie Johnson briefly interviewed Dumont, “Patrick Dumont” trended on social media — many fans no doubt Googling to find out who he is.
The Mavericks’ immediate success under the Dumont and Adelson ownership mirrors that of the Texas Rangers’ 2010 season.
After a court-ordered bankruptcy auction, a group headed by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan — with most of the financial backing coming from co-chairmen Ray Davis and Bob Simpson — was on Aug. 12, 2010 approved as new owners by Major League Baseball.
A little more than two months later, on Oct. 27, 2010, the Rangers played in their first World Series, ultimately losing to San Francisco in five games.
Though Dumont says he isn’t surprised by this playoff run, he did admit that he could not have fathomed being in the NBA Finals back on Dec. 27, when the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the Mavericks’ $3.9 billion sale.
“No, we were just very happy and honored to be able to be here,” Dumont said. “Like, we had no idea. But we knew this team would compete. And we’re very excited about the work they’ve put it in and the results. It’s phenomenal.”
Dumont and Adelson live in the Las Vegas area, but Dumont emphasized that he understands and appreciates the impact that the Mavericks’ run is having in North Texas.
“It’s exciting for our fans. It’s exciting for the city of Dallas.”
