Mavericks are champs; Stern dodges a bullet as Cuban delegates receiving trophy

I hate Bowie Kuhn

NBA Commissioner David Stern was able to avoid what would have been the most unpleasant awarding of a championship trophy since Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn endured the dishonor after Charles O. Finley's Oakland A's won the World Series, the team's third straight, in 1974. Kuhn and Finley had been feuding for years.

Although Cuban was mentioned by Stern in his predictable laudatory remarks, he handed the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy to Don Carter, one of the original Mavericks owners who maintains a minority stake in the team. CBS Sports says Cuban requested that Carter receive the trophy. Cuban, as abrasive as Finley was, has been Stern's nemesis since he purchased his majority share in the Mavericks over a decade ago.

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