EXCLUSIVE: Was a Former NBA Bettor Running the Mavs? (Re-Air)

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 29 December 2021

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Bob Voulgaris turned his career as a professional, data-driven NBA bettor into a dream job when Mark Cuban made him Director of Quantitative Research and Analysis for the Dallas Mavericks. But tension built between Voulgaris and then-GM Donnie Nelson, and relationships with players got muddy. Reports in The Athletic this year claimed the former bettor was running the show behind the scenes in Dallas. Then, during the offseason, the GM, coach and Voulgaris all left the team. Today, we respin our October conversation with Bob Voulgaris––his first interview since leaving the Mavs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone, it is Pablo.
0:02.7	Today is Wednesday, December 29th, still 2021.
0:06.8	And I hope you're enjoying this week's slate of episodes.
0:10.4	There are some of our favorites that we've run from the past year.
0:13.6	And today, we're giving you an exclusive interview that first ran in October.
0:18.4	And it gave us a view behind the scenes of a super dysfunctional NBA team
0:23.5	that's unlike any I had ever heard before. And just some fair warning in advance here.
0:30.3	This episode contains strong language.
0:46.1	Today I want to introduce you to a man who has led one of the most fascinating lives in all of sports.
0:48.6	A man named Bob Vulgaris.
0:50.4	I was an NBA better.
0:51.3	I bet on the NBA.
0:52.3	Hundreds of millions.
0:53.6	You added it all up.
0:55.1	Never really had a losing year.
1:03.1	Bob parlayed a skill for betting on NBA games into a full-time, high-level job in the front office of an NBA team,
1:11.8	running the analytics department of the Dallas Mavericks. It turned out to be more than just a jolt to the team's system.
1:15.4	I mean, look, I'm an acquired taste. I get that.
1:21.8	Which is what owner Mark Cuban said he wanted, but tensions reportedly escalated. Between Bob, the laptop toting outsider, the so-called gambler, and general manager Donnie Nelson,
1:29.1	which all led to headlines, accusing Bob of jeopardizing the team's relationship with superstar
1:35.1	Luca Donchich.
1:40.7	So we bring you an exclusive interview with Bob Vulgaris, who answers questions for the first time about whether he really was the shadow GM of the Mavericks.
	...

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