| Dallas Mavericks HISTORY
Quick facts:
Founded: 1980
Arena: American Airlines Arena
Division Championships: 4 (87, 03, 07, 10)
Midwest Division titles 2 (87, 03)
Southwest Division titles 4 (07, 10, 21, 24)
Western Conference Championships: 3 (06,11,24)
NBA Titles: 1 (2011)
Most Points scored: 156 @ Houston 4/11/95
Fewest Points scored: 62 vs Milwaukee 11/22/97
Most Points Allowed: 147 @ Houston 4/11/95
Fewest Points allowed: 68 @ Utah 12/12/97
Biggest Win margine: 53 vs Philadelphia 11/13/14
Biggest Loss Margine: 58 @ Sacramento 12/29/92
Name History:
Despite popular belief a Maverick is not a horse. The term was first given to stubborn longhorns, but then was quickly applied to those who wrangled the beasts. Texas has a long important history of cattle drives and this is where the Mavericks get their name from; The lone cowboy on the prairie.
The Sad Tale of Roy Tarpley;
Roy Tarpley was one of the best prospects in the NBA draft when he left the University of Michigan for the 1986 draft. The Mavericks desperately needed a power forward and selected the 6'11" Tarpley with the 7th pick in the 1986 draft.
Tarpley started to produce right away averaging 7 points a game as a rookie and jumping to 14 his second year en route to winning the NBA's sixth man of the year award. But Tarpley had issues with drugs and alcohol and in 1990 he was arrested for driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest, and was suspended by the NBA.
In March 1991, he drew another suspension, after being arrested again for drunk driving. A few months later, he got his third violation, and was banned from the NBA for violating the it's drug-use policies.
Tarpley got one more chance and returned to the Mavericks in 1994, but was then permanently banned from the NBA in December 1995, for using alcohol, and violating the terms of a court-imposed personal aftercare program. He finished with NBA career averages of 12.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.
Tarpley sued the Dallas Mavericks and the NBA, claiming that their refusal to reinstate him violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, because his addiction was a disability. The suit was settled out of court in March 2009
Sadly, Tarpley died at the age of 50 on January 9, 2015. His cause of death is believed to be liver failure.
The 3 J's:
In the early to mid 1990s the Mavericks had one of the best young cores in the NBA. The trio of Jim Jackson, Jamal Mashburn and Jason Kidd was going to change the fortunes of the struggling Mavericks. But the trio of young stars were unable to get along and within a few years of being assembled all of them were traded.
The Brutal 1990s:
The 1990s are seen as a good time for many franchises, especially those in the western conference, but for the Mavericks it was one of the worst decades in not only franchise history, but sports history. From 1991 until 1994 the Mavericks won just 46 games over 3 season, including an at the time 2nd worst 11 games in 1993. The most wins the Mavericks accomplished during the 1990s was 36 in 1995.
The Mavericks had talent too. The three J's were some of the hottest young players around, but their inability to mesh and constant mismanagement doomed the team.
Flipped Scripts
In 2006 the Mavs appeared to be a team of destiny. They had won 60 games for just the 2nd time in franchise and got the #1 seed in the west. In the second round they also finally got passed the San Antonio Spurs winning a 7th and decisive game. They made their first NBA finals that season and went up 2-0.
Game 3 seen some of the most controversial officiating in NBA history and the Heat eeked out a 2 point win. Miami tied the series at 2 before winning games 5 and 6 in controversial fashion. The Heat took 207 free throws to the Mavs 155. Dwayne Wade alone too 97 and almost every close game was decided by free throws.
Five year laters and the Mavs were an aftertought entering the 2011 NBA playoffs. All eyes where on the Miami Heat, who had just assembled a big three with Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Lebron James. The Mavs however, played the best basketball in franchise history during the playoffs and made it to the NBA finals to face the Heat.
Once again some strange calls were made to favor the Heat, but this time the Mavs were able to overcoming the officiating and actually attempted more free throws than the Heat.
The Mavs upset the Heat in six games for their first NBA title in one of the bigger upsets in NBA finals history.
Upset:
The Dallas Mavericks are part of the biggest upset in NBA history. In 2007 the Mavericks won a season high and franchise high 67 games and were the first seed in the west. The hype for the Mavericks was monumental. Every pundit had them picked to win the NBA title that season. The Mavs instead, were upset by the Golden State Warriors in one of the biggest upsets in NBA history.
Luka!:
The Mavs got lucky in one of the best trades in their franchise history. The Mavs got the fifth pick in the 2018 where they used it to select Trae Young. The Mavs had really coveted Solvenian guard Luka Doncic, and lukcy for them the Hawks really liked Young. The Hawks and the Mavs swapped Young for Doncic.
It was impact of Luka was immediately noticed for the Mavs. In his rookie year Doncic averaged 21 points and won ROTY. Doncic has been an All-NBA staple since and a triple-double machine.
Dirk Nowitzki became the first seven-footer to win the NBA 3pt contest.
Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic game winner vs Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2024 Western Conference Finals
The 10 best old school NBA logos
There have been hundreds of team logo's in the history of the NBA. Some have been fantastic, some have been okay, and others have been bad. But which ones truly standout as the best of the best?
To find out what NBA logos are the best, we have to find out what makes a logo good to begin with. For the NBA, a logo is going to need to be basketball related. it also has to be unique, and capture the essence of the city it is to represent.
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Military Veterans who have played in the NBA
The United States Military has been a big piece of American history and American lore. Before every basketball game fans stand an honor America and the men and women who have served with the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. The song immortalizes the defense of Fort McHenry from the war of 1812. The Veterans Administration (VA) estimates that 22 million Americans have served in the military. Countless famous Americans have served in the armed forces and that includes several NBA players.
During the early days of one of the NBA's precursors, the NBL, it was not uncommon for a player to leave the league to join the military. The military offered better pay and better accommodations than the league did.
World War II was nearly the end of the NBL as the majority of players left to serve. The lack of players caused the first racial integration in any major sport in American history
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The Teams: Mavericks
They are the first of the modern expansion teams, the Modern expansion teams are any team from 1980 onward. They enjoyed initial success than fell by the way side in the 1990s, only to be resurrected as one of the power franchises of the 2000s. They are the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks joined the NBA as the leagues 23rd team in 1980 for a cost of 12 million dollars. The Mavericks won their first game ever in the NBA by beating the Spurs, but would win only five out of their next 40 games and finish the season 15-67. The 1981 draft for the Mavericks is probably one of the most successful drafts for a team in league history, the Mavericks selected Mark Aguirre with the first pick, Rolando Blackman with the 9th pick, and Jay Vincent with the 24th pick. All three players would play key roles in rejuvenizing the team. The second season the Mavs finished second to last in the Midwest division with a 28-54 record.
In 82-83 the Mavericks made a push at the western conference playoffs, but at the time only six teams per conference made the playoffs and the Mavericks missed the final spot by seven games. The next season saw the Mavs finally break into the playoffs and finally get a winning record. In 83-84 the Mavericks went 43-39 and captured the 4th seed in the west. In the playoffs the Mavs defeated the Seattle Sonics in five games before losing to the Los Angles Lakers in five.
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