Cuban renews 2006 Finals grievance, Wade rebuts rigged claim

Mark Cuban renewed a long‑running grievance over the 2006 NBA Finals this week, saying he will "take it to my grave" that the Miami Heat stole the championship from his Dallas Mavericks, comments that prompted a public rebuttal from Heat legend Dwyane Wade. Cuban made the remarks during a podcast appearance; Wade both liked a social media post highlighting Cuban's comments and, on his own podcast, rejected the notion the series was rigged and defended his play.

Cuban, who sold his majority stake in the Mavericks in 2023 but remains a minority owner, pointed to officiating and free throw disparities in the six‑game series as evidence. Critics of the Finals often cite high free throw totals for Miami and particularly for Wade, including Game 5 when Wade attempted 25 free throws, a figure that has been widely discussed. Cuban has previously been fined for confronting officials after that game and has said he hired a former FBI investigator to examine the series. In his latest remarks he reiterated that he believes the outcome was unfair.

Wade responded on The Timeout podcast, telling cohost Bob Metelus that while he respects Cuban, he does not accept the allegation the series was...