The Celtics and Heat met in Boston on Monday night for a potentially historic Game 7 in Boston, as the Celtics had a chance to complete the first ever comeback from an 0-3 series deficit in NBA history.
The game, on TNT, figured to bring in some big ratings because of what was on the line (both a Finals berth and NBA history) and the teams involved, particularly the Celtics. Despite how often they are discussed, TV ratings shouldn’t matter to anyone who doesn’t work for the league or the TV networks involved. One of those people who ratings do actually matter to is Mark Cuban, as the Mavs owner profits directly off of the NBA’s broadcast deals and with a new one coming up, he probably has a keen eye on how these playoffs are performing.
That is why his tweet on Monday, asking fans who all was watching the game on an illegal, pirated stream, drew so much attention and mockery.
Got a personal question for everyone watching heats vs celts right now. Who is watching on a pirated stream. I’m curious how prevalent it is.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) May 30, 2023
As of writing, that tweet had nearly 3,000 quote tweets, almost all of them roasting Cuban for trying to get people to snitch on themselves to someone who literally makes money off of people watching games through traditional broadcasts — with “Narc Cuban” trending on Twitter.
narc cuban https://t.co/LOx6FD00Yc
— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) May 30, 2023
Nice try. Narc Cuban
— Bucket (@thatchthoughts) May 30, 2023
Narc cuban working with the feds now https://t.co/Ey1ZBtGjcb
— Majin (@HoodieMajin) May 30, 2023
Narc Cuban https://t.co/vouiOMgMNR
— sarah kelly (@thesarahkelly) May 30, 2023
did everyone make the “narc cuban” joke already https://t.co/EsvrfJB257
— Pratik (@PatelESPN) May 30, 2023
alright narc cuban https://t.co/OOLArQLtUF
— SINA SNOW (@yungk0ala) May 30, 2023
Mark Cuban sent out that tweet not even 15 minutes ago and Narc Cuban is already trending
— CLIPPER-MAN
(@holdmyballs_rq) May 30, 2023
somebody called him Narc Cuban lmao
— nick (@nick_pants) May 30, 2023
“Got a personal question for everyone watching heats vs celts right now. Who is watching on a pirated stream. I’m curious how prevalent it is.” pic.twitter.com/VDHkf3Eaqt
— FETAMASK.eth (@FETAMASK) May 30, 2023
“who’s watching on a pirated stream” pic.twitter.com/vlAPfMTG4H
— Old NBA Tweets (@oldnbatweetz) May 30, 2023
“Who is watching on a pirated stream?” pic.twitter.com/GgDd8F61qa
— HawksMuse (@HawksMuse) May 30, 2023
“Got a personal question for everyone watching heats vs celts right now. Who is watching on a pirated stream. I’m curious how prevalent it is.” pic.twitter.com/0opPkE7xC2
— Ballsack Sports (@BallsackSports) May 30, 2023
Even if Cuban is just honestly trying to figure out how prevalent it is for people to watch illegal streams, he’s one of the people who no one would actually tell that to because he’s one of the few who has reason to seek legal action against those streams.