Mark Cuban after allegedly telling Kenyon Martin's mom her son is a punk: "I shouldn't have said anything"

The intensity of NBA playoff basketball often spills beyond the court, and one Western Conference series in 2009 was no exception, courtesy of Mark Cuban and Kenyon Martin’s mom.

Reportedly, tensions flared after Game 3 between the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets, with home team owner Cuban verbally confronting Lydia Moore, mother of the then-Nuggets forward.

Game 3 fallout

The Mavericks were still winless in the series when Game 3’s ending was followed by a frustrated Cuban taking it out on the nearest targets. According to ESPN, after the final buzzer of the 106–105 game, that target was first the referees, as “Cuban blew off steam at the scorer’s table.”

The Mavs owner, the article noted, “then headed down a hall leading away from the court,” meeting Martin’s mother, who, wearing a Nuggets jersey, stood near the base of the section, unintentionally in Cuban’s line of sight. Reportedly, things escalated after Cuban told Moore it “includes your son,” immediately following a Mavericks fan shouting that the visiting Nuggets were “thugs.”

The second version of the story, according to McMenamin — later provided by Martin’s agent — was that Cuban had directly told Moore, “Your son is a punk.”

Cuban struck again

Martin had certainly heard worse descriptions of himself in the heat of competition than being called a punk. However, for him, Cuban’s alleged remark was less about what was said than about to whom it was directed — family, which is typically off-limits in any kind of NBA trash talk.

While, if true, both remarks — especially the latter version — painted Cuban in a bad light, Martin was actually willing to settle matters. As media frenzy following the incident left the 2004 All-Star inundated with questions, he made it clear he preferred to handle matters privately — face-to-face rather than through public channels.

Nuggets head coach George Karl echoed his player in that regard, noting that a personal meeting between Martin and Cuban, perhaps even over a meal after the 2009 NBA playoffs, would be the best method of reconciliation.

Cuban eventually backtracked, issuing “An Apology to Kenyon Martin’s Mom” on blogmaverick.com, even offering to cover their next meal.

“I shouldn’t have said anything. Now, the reality is that this has gotten out of hand,” Cuban wrote.

“I would like to apologize to you and your mom, KMart, for my comment. I should have not said anything and I was wrong. Hopefully, you will accept the apology and we can move on,” he added.

Ultimately, Cuban, who sold his majority stake in the Mavs in December 2023, has always been a strong and vocal presence on the sidelines. It is an intensity that always reflected genuine interest in his franchise, unlike some owners who often treat theirs as mere business projects. Yet that same vocalness — some would call it antics — sometimes went too far. Interestingly, it even tested, or rather crossed, Cuban’s own players’ patience at times.

Mavericks icon Dirk Nowitzki, for instance, once slammed Cuban’s courtside behavior during the 2006 NBA Finals, lamenting, “The game starts and he’s already yelling.”

Years later, during another heated Mavericks game in the 2010–11 season, Nowitzki reportedly even told his yapping boss to “shut the f*** up.“

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 16, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Mark Cuban after allegedly telling Kenyon Martin’s mom her son is a punk: “I shouldn’t have said anything”

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