60 Fun Facts About Dallas Mavericks

What is the name of the arena the Mavericks have shared with the NHL's Dallas Stars since 2001?

They played their first 21 seasons at Reunion Arena.

In which season did the Mavericks play their first NBA game?

They beat the Spurs 103–92 in their debut at the brand-new Reunion Arena.

The 'Mavericks' name was chosen by fans via postcards and taken from what?

Garner himself was a member of the ownership group; 'Wranglers' and 'Express' lost the vote.

Which Home Interiors and Gifts owner founded the Mavericks, partly as a gift to his wife?

He paid half of the $12.5 million expansion fee negotiated with a young David Stern.

Which coach, fresh off the 1978 title with Washington, was the Mavericks' first head coach?

He returned for a second stint in 1994 and holds the franchise record for games coached with 738.

Which 1980 first-round pick refused to play for the expansion Mavericks and was traded to Denver?

The picks Dallas got back became Rolando Blackman in 1981 and Sam Vincent in 1985.

Which guard, signed from the CBA's Anchorage Northern Knights, played 12 years for Dallas and had his No. 15 retired?

He had to be talked into playing rather than continuing his studies at Maryland.

Whom did the Mavericks select with the first overall pick in the 1981 draft?

He averaged 24.6 points over seven seasons; his No. 24 was retired in January 2026.

Where did the Mavericks play the deciding game of their first playoff series win in 1984, with Reunion Arena booked?

They beat Seattle in five games before losing to Magic Johnson's Lakers.

Which team eliminated the Mavericks in seven games in the 1988 Western Conference finals?

It was the franchise's deepest run until 2006; the Lakers went on to repeat as champions.

Which troubled Mavericks big man won 1988 Sixth Man of the Year and was later banned for life twice?

His third substance-abuse violation in 1991 brought the first ban; he returned in 1994 and was banned again in 1995.

What was the Mavericks' record in 1992–93, then the second-worst in NBA history?

They started 2–27 and rallied only after Jim Jackson finally signed in March.

Which nickname was given to the mid-1990s trio of Jim Jackson, Jamal Mashburn and the 1994 No. 2 pick?

Kidd, the second pick in 1994, was traded to Phoenix in December 1996 for Michael Finley, Sam Cassell and A. C. Green.

How many different players saw action for the 1996–97 Mavericks, an all-time NBA record?

By season's end only rookie Samaki Walker remained from the opening-day roster.

Which 7-foot-6 centre came to Dallas in the 1997 trade that sent Jim Jackson and Sam Cassell to New Jersey?

Don Nelson said the locker-room situation had become unacceptable.

For how much did Mark Cuban buy the Mavericks from Ross Perot Jr.'s group in January 2000?

He once let Dennis Rodman live in his house for a week before signing him.

Which Mavericks signing in January 2001 became the first Chinese player in the NBA?

He joined an international cast that included Canada's Steve Nash and Germany's Dirk Nowitzki.

The Mavericks' 2001 rebrand swapped green and a cowboy hat logo for a horse and which colour scheme?

The colours were nearly identical to those of the Dallas Cowboys.

How many games did the Mavericks win to open the 2002–03 season, one short of the NBA record?

They finished 60–22 but lost Dirk Nowitzki to a knee injury in the conference finals against San Antonio.

What nickname did fans give the silver alternate uniforms the Mavericks scrapped after one game in 2003?

They were worn once, at the Lakers on October 28, 2003, and never again.

Which rapper designed the green alternate 'Mavs' uniforms introduced in 2004–05?

They echoed the team's 1980s road greens.

Which former Spurs guard became head coach in March 2005 and Coach of the Year in 2006?

He holds the franchise's best regular-season winning percentage at .735.

Which team beat the Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals after Dallas won the first two games?

City officials had already planned a parade; Dwyane Wade led four straight Heat wins.

How much was Mark Cuban fined for 'several acts of misconduct' during the 2006 Finals?

Nowitzki was fined $5,000 for kicking a ball into the stands, and TV cameras caught him attacking a stationary bike.

What was the Mavericks' record in 2006–07, the season Dirk Nowitzki won MVP?

They went 52–5 over one 57-game stretch, then lost to eighth-seeded Golden State in the first round.

Which coach led the eighth-seeded Warriors to their 2007 upset of the 67-win Mavericks?

He had been Dallas's own coach and GM until 2005; the Mavs went 0–3 against Golden State that season.

Which centre did the Mavericks get from Charlotte in July 2010 in a trade USA Today called among the most lopsided ever?

He anchored the defence of the 2011 title team and made the All-Defensive Second Team.

Which team did the Mavericks sweep in the 2011 second round, with Jason Terry hitting nine threes in Game 4?

It was the only playoff meeting between Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki, and it ended 122–86.

How many points did Dirk Nowitzki score in Game 1 of the 2011 West finals vs the Thunder?

He shot 12-for-15 from the field and 24-for-24 from the line.

By how many points did the Mavericks trail in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the 2011 Finals before rallying?

Trailing 88–73, they closed on a 22–5 run to stun Miami.

What was the score of Game 6 of the 2011 Finals, which gave Dallas its first championship?

Nowitzki was so emotional he went to the locker room before the buzzer and had to be coaxed back for the trophy.

Which player, later the team's head coach, was the point guard on the 2011 championship team?

He was hired as coach in June 2021 in his third stint with the organisation.

The 2011–12 Mavericks became only the third defending champion to suffer what fate?

Oklahoma City did it; the 2006–07 Heat and 1956–57 Warriors were the previous examples.

The Mavericks' largest-ever margin of victory, 53 points, came in a 2014 win over which team?

The 123–70 result surpassed a 50-point win over the Knicks in January 2010.

How many seasons did Dirk Nowitzki spend with the Mavericks, an NBA record for one franchise?

He retired after the 2018–19 season, the year Luka Dončić won Rookie of the Year.

Which team drafted Luka Dončić third overall in 2018 before trading him to Dallas on draft night?

The Hawks got the fifth pick, Trae Young, and a protected 2019 first that became Cam Reddish.

Which star did the Mavericks get from the Knicks in January 2019 for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan and two firsts?

The Knicks' pick from that deal is why Dallas tanked the end of 2022–23 to keep its own top-10 selection.

Where did Luka Dončić record a 41-point triple-double against Detroit in December 2019?

He became the first player with multiple 40-point triple-doubles before turning 21.

Which 64-win team did the Mavericks upset in 2022, winning Game 7 by 33 on the road?

Down 3–2, Dončić said 'Everybody acts tough when they're up'; Dallas led by 46 at one point in Game 7.

Whom did the Mavericks acquire from Brooklyn in 2023 for Finney-Smith and Dinwiddie?

The team still missed the playoffs and sat its stars late to keep a top-10 pick.

Which team beat the Mavericks in five games in the 2024 NBA Finals?

Dallas's lone win was a 122–84 blowout, the third-largest in Finals history.

Which player did the Mavericks get from the Lakers in the February 2025 Luka Dončić trade?

GM Nico Harrison defended it by saying 'defense wins championships'; Dončić was not told until the deal was done.

The Mavericks beat sub-2 percent odds to win the 2025 lottery and picked whom first overall?

The Duke forward arrived just months after the Dončić trade.

Which casino magnates bought a majority stake in the Mavericks in December 2023?

Mark Cuban kept 27 percent and Dumont replaced him as governor.

Which ex-AT&T executive became the first Black woman CEO of an NBA franchise with the Mavericks in 2018?

She was hired in response to a Sports Illustrated investigation into workplace misconduct.

Which team did the Mavericks beat in their very first NBA game on October 11, 1980?

The Spurs had themselves begun life in Dallas as the ABA's Chaparrals.

Which ABA team, later the Spurs, was the city's previous professional basketball franchise?

Team president Robert Folsom, later the mayor, introduced Norm Sonju to Don Carter.

Which Grammy-winning artist co-designed the Mavericks' 2023–24 'City' uniform honouring R&B history?

The black uniform used stylised Western lettering in silver and blue.

The Mavericks' 2020–21 'City' uniform in white, gold and silver was inspired by which Dallas symbol?

The theme returned in 2025–26 in the team's current colours.

Where in the 1984 draft did the Mavericks take Sam Perkins?

Perkins averaged 14.4 points and 8.0 rebounds in six seasons before leaving for the Lakers.

Which coach's autocratic style produced a 13–69 season in 1993–94 and got him fired?

His college coach Bobby Knight had told him to run the team with an iron hand.

Which player did Mark Cuban let live in his house for a week before signing him in 2000?

Cuban's stunts made him a fan favourite, though he has also been fined millions for breaking NBA rules.

Which point guard was acquired alongside Dirk Nowitzki in 1998, forming a future MVP pair?

The Canadian and the German helped Michael Finley lead the 2000-01 team to 53 wins and a first playoff trip in 11 years.

Who was hired as Mavericks head coach on May 9, 2008, a day after Avery Johnson's dismissal?

Johnson was let go one day after a first-round loss to the New Orleans Hornets.

Whose controversial 2009 playoff three, after an uncalled foul by Antoine Wright, beat Dallas 106-105?

The league later admitted the referees got it wrong, but the Nuggets took a 3-0 lead and won the series in five.

The Mavericks' 128-78 rout of which team in January 2010 was then the third-largest NBA margin ever?

The 50-point win stood as the club record until a 53-point thrashing of Philadelphia in 2014.

Whose buzzer-beater won Game 3 of the 2014 first-round series against the top-seeded Spurs?

It answered a Manu Ginóbili go-ahead shot with 1.7 seconds left; San Antonio still won the series in seven.

Which two players did the Hawks end up with from the picks Dallas sent them for Luka Dončić in 2018?

Dallas gave up the fifth pick in 2018 and a protected 2019 first that landed at No. 10.

Which general manager defended the 2025 Dončić trade by saying 'defense wins championships'?

Dončić was not told until the deal was done, the first midseason swap of two reigning All-NBA players.

Whose No. 24 did the Mavericks retire in January 2026?

Aguirre was the first overall pick of the 1981 draft; Bill Russell's No. 6 is retired league-wide.