DALLAS MAVERICKS FRANCHISE HISTORY
Previous Franchise Names: None
Principal Owner: Mark Cuban
COO: Floyd Jahner
President of Basketball Operations: Donnie Nelson
Head Coach: Rick Carlisle
Best Season: 2006-07 (67-15, .817)
Playoff Appearances: 20
NBA Championships: 1
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 12: (L-R) Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki #41, Jason Kidd #2 and Jason Terry #31 of the Dallas Mavericks celebrate with the Larry O’Brien trophy after they won 105-95 against the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2011 NBA Finals at American Airlines Arena on June 12, 2011 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)
Professional basketball returned to Dallas in 1980 with the arrival of the city’s first NBA franchise, the Dallas Mavericks.
The ABA’s Chaparrals spent six seasons in and around Dallas before leaving for San Antonio in 1973, but the Mavericks marked the first time the NBA deemed the Metroplex a worthy location.
The expansion Mavericks needed just four seasons to reach the postseason for the first time, riding a young core of stars Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman to the playoffs in 1983-84.
But after pushing the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers to a seven-game Western Conference Finals in 1988, Dallas fell on hard times shortly thereafter, missing the playoffs every year from 1990-91 through 1999-2000.
Another young player came along in 1998 and he has become the franchise’s greatest star. German big man Dirk Nowitzki was acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks in a draft night trade in June 1998 and has become the all-time leading scorer in NBA history for players from Europe, eclipsing 29,000 career points in 2015-16.
The Mavericks reached the NBA Finals for the first time in 2006, but after Dallas won the first two games of the series, the Miami Heat stormed back to close out the series in six games.
The franchise’s greatest disappointment came the next season, when the Mavs won a franchise-record 67 games behind Nowitzki’s NBA MVP effort only to lose in the first round to a Golden State Warriors club that finished 25 games behind them in the standings.
Dallas returned to the Finals in 2011, this time beating the Heat in six games. Nowitzki was Finals MVP, leading a veteran squad that included future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd and former All-Star Shawn Marion.
Even with the cold spell in the 1990s, Dallas has reached the postseason 20 times in its 36 seasons. Current coach Rick Carlisle has posted a record of 371-253 in parts of eight seasons at the helm since 2008-09 and has a 27-26 playoff record, passing Don Nelson and Dick Motta as the winningest Mavericks mentor ever.
Dallas Mavericks Career Leaders (as of 3/9/2016)
- Games, Dirk Nowitzki, 1323
- Points, Dirk Nowitzki, 29158
- Rebounds, Dirk Nowitzki, 10430
- Assists, Derek Harper, 5111
- Steals, Derek Harper, 1551
- Blocks, Shawn Bradley, 1250
LANDOVER, MD – MARCH 5: Rolando Blackman #22 of the Dallas Mavericks takes a foul shot during basketball game against the Washington Bullets at Capital Centre on March 5, 1992 in Landover, Maryland. The Bullets won 119-109. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Dallas Mavericks Retired Numbers
- 15, Brad Davis
- 22, Rolando Blackman
Dallas Mavericks Official Links
Official Team Site: mavs.com
Official Twitter Handle: @dallasmavs
Official Facebook Page: Dallas Mavericks
Official Instagram Page: Dallas Mavericks
Official Arena Page: American Airlines Center
Dallas Mavericks Beat Writers
Eddie Sefko, Dallas Morning News, @ESefko
Brad Townsend, Dallas Morning News, @townbrad
Dwain Price, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, @dwainprice
Tim MacMahon, ESPN Dallas, @espn_mcmahon
Earl Sneed, Mavs.com, @EKS_mavsnba
Related Dallas Mavericks Blogs and Links
Dallas Mavericks Logo History, courtesy of Chris Creamer’s Sportslogos.net
Salary Page: Dallas Mavericks Salaries at Spotrac
FanSided Dallas Mavericks: The Smoking Cuban
SB Nation Dallas Mavericks: Mavs Moneyball
HoopsHabit Dallas Mavericks Archive: Dallas Mavericks
Bleacher Report Dallas Mavericks Team Stream: Dallas Mavericks
RealGM Dallas Mavericks Page: Dallas Mavericks
Stats and retired number information courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com
