Daymond John Credits Mark Cuban For Keeping ‘Shark Tank’ Alive

Billionaire Mark Cuban recently announced he is swimming away from the popular show Shark Tank, and fellow shark Daymond John is giving him credit for making the show a hit after all these years.

The FUBU founder says Cuban’s belief in the show’s importance is part of its longevity. The show is in the 15th season, and the Dallas Mavericks owner said season 16 will be his last. John credits Cuban for putting his all into the series when they were on the brink of being canceled three seasons in. The fellow shark wishes the best for Cuban in his new endeavors, as the two have grown close over the years, even collaborating on numerous deals negotiated on the show.

Cuban announced during an appearance on the popular podcast All The Smoke with former NBA players Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes as hosts. The successful business owner told the hosts, “It’s time,” when asked why he was suddenly leaving. “I feel like in doing ‘Shark Tank’ all these years, we’ve trained a generation of entrepreneurs, 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,” Cuban said.

“That’s what happens, right? Now we’ve got people coming on saying I watched you when I was 10 years old.”

Since his announcement, Cuban has been making some interesting moves with his NBA team that have raised some eyebrows. He sold his majority stake in the team, reportedly valued at $3.5 billion, which caused speculation that he may be running for president of the United States. The speculations aren’t too far off as he has entertained the idea before, once saying he would run on the Republican ticket to challenge Donald Trump. But the political dreams may be rumors as he says there is “no chance” he is running for office.