Feature: Ussery '81 leading Mavs

Ussery, the current president and chief executive of the Dallas Mavericks, grew up in Watts, Los Angeles before coming to Princeton. He tried out for the basketball team as a walk-on because he said legendary coach Pete Carril thought he would be good because of where he came from, but after 20 minutes on the court he was offered a spot carrying the bucket. So Ussery stuck with football, where he played running back and helped the Tigers to a 5-2 Ivy League record in his junior season.

Ussery concentrated in the Wilson School and went on to get his master’s degree at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He then went to law school at the University of California, Berkeley, and later moved back to L.A. to practice corporate law.

“I had a little bit in the back of my mind that I was going to do entertainment or sports,” Ussery said. “I didn’t know how that was going to happen exactly, but I knew that’s where I was headed.”

It was the most tragic of chance occurrences that led Ussery into the field of sports management. On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 crashed after an attempted emergency landing in Sioux City, Iowa, killing many members of the administration of the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association. The interim commissioner of the league called on Ussery to help out with litigation relating to the crash, and he ultimately ended up staying on as deputy commissioner and legal council for the CBA.

With this new job, Ussery became the first African-American commissioner of a major professional sports league. When he became the CEO of the Mavericks at age 37, he was not only the only black CEO in sports at the time, but also the youngest. These facts, however, take secondary importance for him.

“Other people pointed stuff out, but my objective was always focused on doing the best and being the best that I can,” Ussery said. “Every once in a while someone will point something out to you, but it has nothing to do with the task at hand.”

Those tasks, in addition to building the American Airlines Center, have included feats such as building the team that lost to the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals and organizing the 2010 NBA All Star Game.

“The 2006 Finals against Miami were unbelievable,” Ussery said. “Hopefully we’ll get back there this year, but on the basketball side that would have to be a highlight.”

Ussery had to interact with and accommodate many different parties while putting together 2010’s All Star Weekend. It was held at the Dallas Cowboys’ football stadium to make room for as many Mavericks fans as possible. He had to negotiate not only with other members of the Mavericks organization, but also with NBA Commissioner David Stern and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to make the event successful.

One of the strongest relationships Ussery has developed over the years with the Mavericks is with the team’s fiery and controversial owner, Mark Cuban. Cuban, a billionaire Internet entrepreneur who bought the Mavericks in 2000, has made headlines on various occasions over the past few years for his outspoken criticism of NBA administrators and referees.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Ussery said of working with Cuban for the past 11 years. “If you get beyond the way things are communicated and listen to what’s actually being communicated, 95 percent of the time he’s right. Over time, people have come to understand that, and Mark’s made a lot of positive change in the league.”

Since joining the Mavericks organization in the mid-1990s, Ussery has also grown very close with Stern, who he describes as a “dear friend and mentor.” But Ussery is also one of the first people Stern often turns to for advice when he needs the teams’ perspective on an issue facing the NBA.

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“We have a good relationship and part of it is borne on the fact that we respect one another and I understand how much he loves this game and loves this league,” Ussery said. “In terms of a role model, he sets the standard.”

In fact, the close relationship has led many to speculate that Ussery may be a top contender for the role of NBA commissioner should Stern step down. While Ussery said he believes himself to be qualified for the position, he does not speculate about his future after the Mavericks.

“It’s not in my sights, and what I mean by that is I don’t sit back and think about what’s next in that sense because I think that would be distracting. Am I qualified? I am,” Ussery said. “But my focus is on always trying to do the best that I can with the Mavs, and I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what God has in store for me next.”

Despite his responsibilities to the Mavericks, Ussery said he still makes time to give back to Princeton, where he said the culture of hard work prepared him for the rest of his academic and professional career. He is on the executive committee of the Aspire fundraising campaign and served on the University Board of Trustees until a few years ago.

“Princeton was really a life-transformative experience for me,” said Ussery. He added that President Shirley Tilghman’s dedication to the University has inspired him to give back more over the last six or seven years. “For the rest of my life I’ll be involved in whatever way I can best serve the University.”