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Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban announced his plans to leave the ABC series 'Shark Tank' following the conclusion of its 16th season.
"It's time," Cuban said during an appearance on the Showtime podcast 'All The Smoke' alongside hosts and former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
Cuban initially appeared as a guest on 'Shark Tank' during its second season before becoming a mainstay the following year.
“I love it because it sends the message the American dream is alive and well,” Cuban said. “I feel like in doing Shark Tank all these years, we’ve trained multiple generations of entrepreneurs that if somebody can come from Iowa or Sacramento or wherever, and show up on the carpet of Shark Tank and show their business and get a deal, it’s going to inspire generations of kids. That’s what happens, right? Now we’ve got people coming on saying I watched you when I was 10 years old. I’m like, 'f**k.' But we’re helping them right? I’ve invested in, I don’t know how many hundreds of companies. On a cash basis, I’m down a little bit, but on mark to market meeting, the companies are still in operation. I’m way up.”
Deadline.com said ABC wouldn't confirm Cuban's departure but acknowledged that the entrepreneur has mentioned leaving the show previously.