Mark Cuban’s “Congrats Pablo” tweet on Wednesday failed to capture his previously heated back-and-forth with journalist Pablo Torre. Nearly a year ago, the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” host accused the Los Angeles Clippers of circumventing the salary cap to appease star forward Kawhi Leonard.
The former Dallas Mavericks owner staunchly defended Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, proudly declaring in September 2025 that “I’m on Team Ballmer.” Cuban’s announcement launched his sometimes aggressive pushback on Torre’s reporting.
When the NBA practically proved Torre right, Cuban’s strikingly brief response promptly drew sharp reactions across the league on social media.
Mark Cuban Gets Cooked by NBA Fans After Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard Scandal Vindicates Pablo Torre
In his initial defense of Ballmer, Cuban stressed that “Steve isn’t that dumb.” The former “Shark Tank” panelist explained that “(the Clippers) got scammed by Aspiration, along with many others.”
Finally, Cuban put Torre on blast:
“It’s sad that @PabloTorre didn’t take the time to find out how these scammers pulled off their scam. The idea that the default is Ballmer is the bad guy is going to back fire on him.”
The 2929 Entertainment co-owner twice had testy exchanges with the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. One was via remote interview in early September 2025, and the other was in the podcaster’s studio the following month. In both cases and in tweets, Cuban refused to budge in his stance that Torre’s investigation and conclusion were wrong.
Vindication came on Wednesday for the former ESPN reporter when the NBA stripped the Clippers of five first-round picks, fined Ballmer $30 million and suspended him for one year. LA President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank (six months) and president of business operations Gillian Zucker (one year) have also been suspended.
Congrats Pablo. https://t.co/fOUfnbIlVw
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 2, 2026
Cuban’s two-word reaction wasn’t well received by the NBA community.
“You owe him an apology, you fraud. You said he was sad and that he didn’t explain what happen, when he went into great details about it. 🤡🤡🤡,” a ghostwriter and producer wrote.
You owe him a apology you fraud. You said he was sad and that he didn’t explain what happen, when he went into great details about it. 🤡🤡🤡 pic.twitter.com/RF12kWGWFn
— The1theycallFoo (@The1TheyCallF00) September 2, 2026
“This really shouldn’t have been your L too. You had nothing to do with this until you decided to take a stand against investigative journalism. I hope you learn from this,” a sports observer added.
“No, Mark. The apology needs to be as LOUD as all the CRITICISM you were spouting leading up to this,” an X user joined the discussion.
No, Mark.
The apology needs to be as LOUD as all the CRITICISM you were spouting leading up to this. pic.twitter.com/DT7Ipf516R
— SL (@stackinglarps) September 2, 2026
Some fans described what the tweet seemed to them.
“Such a head (expletive) tweet. Almost sound like a threat lmao,” another X user reacted.
“That’s it? No ‘I was wrong?’ This sounds less like a congratulations, and more of a ‘see what you did. You ruined an NBA franchise. I hate you,'” an NBA observer remarked.
A few wanted to know if Cuban admitted his mistake without admitting his mistake.
“Is this eating crow?” a Los Angeles Lakers supporter chimed in.
Is this eating crow?
— The Pettiest Laker Fan 🤫 (@ThePettiestLA) September 2, 2026
Torre’s initial bombshell was that “Leonard signed a $28 million deal for a ‘no-show’ job with a fraudulent tree-planting company funded by $50 million from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.”
In a series of episodes, he alleged that the seven-time All-Star also signed other deals with companies associated with the Clippers.
Meanwhile, Ballmer has never wavered in his stance that he is innocent. He said after Torre’s allegations went viral that he would welcome the NBA’s investigation during a September 2025 interview with ESPN. On Wednesday, the Clippers also vowed to contest the findings and the penalties.
While Ballmer and his franchise have refused to concede any wrongdoing, Cuban has seemingly sided with Torre. Still, the NBA world can’t forget his passionate defense of his fellow billionaire and is roasting him for not even issuing an apology.
