Jalen Brunson Calls Out Mark Cuban For Going After His Parents

New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson called out Mark Cuban this week after the Dallas Mavericks minority owner went after Brunson's parents in 2023.

Brunson left the Mavericks in 2023, signing a four-year, $104 million contract with the Knicks. At the time, Cuban was asked by reporters how he let Brunson leave Dallas…and blamed Brunson's parents.

"Where it went south was when Rick (Brunson, Jalen's father) took over, when the parent took over, or parents took over," Cuban said at the time. 

Cuban recently joined Brunson's podcast "Roomates Show," and the 28-year-old star confronted him about it. 

"The only thing that I… didn’t like about the whole situation was when Mark said, ‘When the parents got involved, that’s when things got messy," Brunson said. "So that was the one thing that I was like, I kinda was like, ‘Damn, that was a little jab.'"

After being called out for involving Brunson's family, Cuban apologized.

"I apologize," he said. "If I put you in a certain way, that wasn't the intention. But it was hard to deal with. It was a unique negotiation in a lot of different ways."

NEW YORK - New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson celebrates in the fourth quarter  after scoring against the Indiana Pacers during game two of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 8, 2024. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Not The First Time Mark Cuban Has Put His Foot In His Mouth

The Knicks were penalized for tampering in Brunson's negotiation, losing a draft pick in 2025 for their trouble. But Brunson's lived up to expectations in New York, and then some. He averaged 28.7 points per game and 6.7 assists in 2023-2024, finishing fifth in the MVP race, and leading to a massive contract extension.

The Mavericks recovered from losing Brunson to reach the NBA Finals earlier this summer, falling to the Boston Celtics. But that doesn't change the fact that Cuban's comments were ill-advised, even if he didn't like the way the Brunson discussions were handled. Cuban said he doesn't have "hard feelings" towards Rick Brunson, and said he's "happy" how things worked out.

"There’s definitely no hard feelings at all. But it’s always interesting when your dad and I walk by each other, you know, it’s just like he gives me the eye, I give him the eye, then we smile and then keep on walking, right? And so all is well and ends well…I’m happy for you, the King of New York, and I’m happy for us," said Cuban.

There was no need for Cuban to involve Brunson's parents, but he's no stranger to saying things he shouldn't. Cuban spent months arguing that no one actually supported the actual definition equity, because it was such an absurd concept. 

Then video surfaced of Kamala Harris saying she believes in it, and Cuban continues to raise money for her regardless.

For such a wealthy man, he's not very good at this.