Cruz, a Republican Texas senator, took glee in the league’s extremely low numbers. Just 6.61 million tuned in to watch Game 2 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat last Friday (a more typical number would be 10 million-12 million).
Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, meanwhile, clapped back at a local politician applauding local businesses (Texas is home to franchises in not just Dallas, but Houston and San Antonio) doing “poorly.”
Essentially this was the latest in basketball becoming a political football as the NBA prepares for Tuesday’s Game 4, with the Lakers leading a suddenly intriguing series 2-1.