60 free Dallas Mavericks trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Dallas Mavericks trivia quiz covers the whole franchise: the TV western that named the team, Don Carter's expansion club and Dick Motta, Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman, the 11–71 and 13–69 seasons, the Three Js, Mark Cuban's arrival, Dirk Nowitzki's MVP and the 2006 collapse, the 2011 championship over Miami, Luka Dončić's arrival and 2024 Finals run, and the trade that sent him to the Lakers. Expect easy questions on the arena, the colours and the biggest names, plenty of history for regular fans, and hard ones about the tennis tournament that bumped a playoff game, the 'Trash Bags' uniforms and the record 27 players used in one season. Uniforms, rivalries with the Spurs and Heat, and ownership all get a turn. Every answer was checked against primary and encyclopaedic sources before it went in, so when you miss one you can trust the explanation. Play it solo or run it as a round at your next MFFL watch party. For the wider league, our NBA trivia page is the natural next stop.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the name of the arena the Mavericks have shared with the NHL's Dallas Stars since 2001?
American Airlines Center
They played their first 21 seasons at Reunion Arena.
Q 02In which season did the Mavericks play their first NBA game?
1980–81
They beat the Spurs 103–92 in their debut at the brand-new Reunion Arena.
Q 03The 'Mavericks' name was chosen by fans via postcards and taken from what?
A 1957–62 TV western starring James Garner
Garner himself was a member of the ownership group; 'Wranglers' and 'Express' lost the vote.
Q 04Which Home Interiors and Gifts owner founded the Mavericks, partly as a gift to his wife?
Don Carter
He paid half of the $12.5 million expansion fee negotiated with a young David Stern.
Q 05Which coach, fresh off the 1978 title with Washington, was the Mavericks' first head coach?
Dick Motta
He returned for a second stint in 1994 and holds the franchise record for games coached with 738.
Q 06Which 1980 first-round pick refused to play for the expansion Mavericks and was traded to Denver?
Kiki VanDeWeghe
The picks Dallas got back became Rolando Blackman in 1981 and Sam Vincent in 1985.
Q 07Which guard, signed from the CBA's Anchorage Northern Knights, played 12 years for Dallas and had his No. 15 retired?
Brad Davis
He had to be talked into playing rather than continuing his studies at Maryland.
Q 08Whom did the Mavericks select with the first overall pick in the 1981 draft?
Mark Aguirre
He averaged 24.6 points over seven seasons; his No. 24 was retired in January 2026.
Q 09Where did the Mavericks play the deciding game of their first playoff series win in 1984, with Reunion Arena booked?
Moody Coliseum
They beat Seattle in five games before losing to Magic Johnson's Lakers.
Q 10Which team eliminated the Mavericks in seven games in the 1988 Western Conference finals?
Los Angeles Lakers
It was the franchise's deepest run until 2006; the Lakers went on to repeat as champions.
Q 11Which troubled Mavericks big man won 1988 Sixth Man of the Year and was later banned for life twice?
Roy Tarpley
His third substance-abuse violation in 1991 brought the first ban; he returned in 1994 and was banned again in 1995.
Q 12What was the Mavericks' record in 1992–93, then the second-worst in NBA history?
11–71
They started 2–27 and rallied only after Jim Jackson finally signed in March.
Q 13Which nickname was given to the mid-1990s trio of Jim Jackson, Jamal Mashburn and the 1994 No. 2 pick?
The Three Js
Kidd, the second pick in 1994, was traded to Phoenix in December 1996 for Michael Finley, Sam Cassell and A. C. Green.
Q 21Which rapper designed the green alternate 'Mavs' uniforms introduced in 2004–05?
Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs
They echoed the team's 1980s road greens.
Q 22Which former Spurs guard became head coach in March 2005 and Coach of the Year in 2006?
Avery Johnson
He holds the franchise's best regular-season winning percentage at .735.
Q 23Which team beat the Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals after Dallas won the first two games?
Miami Heat
City officials had already planned a parade; Dwyane Wade led four straight Heat wins.
Q 14How many different players saw action for the 1996–97 Mavericks, an all-time NBA record?
27
By season's end only rookie Samaki Walker remained from the opening-day roster.
Q 15Which 7-foot-6 centre came to Dallas in the 1997 trade that sent Jim Jackson and Sam Cassell to New Jersey?
Shawn Bradley
Don Nelson said the locker-room situation had become unacceptable.
Q 16For how much did Mark Cuban buy the Mavericks from Ross Perot Jr.'s group in January 2000?
$285 million
He once let Dennis Rodman live in his house for a week before signing him.
Q 17Which Mavericks signing in January 2001 became the first Chinese player in the NBA?
Wang Zhizhi
He joined an international cast that included Canada's Steve Nash and Germany's Dirk Nowitzki.
Q 18The Mavericks' 2001 rebrand swapped green and a cowboy hat logo for a horse and which colour scheme?
Midnight blue, royal blue and silver
The colours were nearly identical to those of the Dallas Cowboys.
Q 19How many games did the Mavericks win to open the 2002–03 season, one short of the NBA record?
14
They finished 60–22 but lost Dirk Nowitzki to a knee injury in the conference finals against San Antonio.
Q 20What nickname did fans give the silver alternate uniforms the Mavericks scrapped after one game in 2003?
Trash Bags
They were worn once, at the Lakers on October 28, 2003, and never again.
Q 24How much was Mark Cuban fined for 'several acts of misconduct' during the 2006 Finals?
$250,000
Nowitzki was fined $5,000 for kicking a ball into the stands, and TV cameras caught him attacking a stationary bike.
Q 25What was the Mavericks' record in 2006–07, the season Dirk Nowitzki won MVP?
67–15
They went 52–5 over one 57-game stretch, then lost to eighth-seeded Golden State in the first round.
Q 26Which coach led the eighth-seeded Warriors to their 2007 upset of the 67-win Mavericks?
Don Nelson
He had been Dallas's own coach and GM until 2005; the Mavs went 0–3 against Golden State that season.
Q 27Which centre did the Mavericks get from Charlotte in July 2010 in a trade USA Today called among the most lopsided ever?
Tyson Chandler
He anchored the defence of the 2011 title team and made the All-Defensive Second Team.
Q 28Which team did the Mavericks sweep in the 2011 second round, with Jason Terry hitting nine threes in Game 4?
Los Angeles Lakers
It was the only playoff meeting between Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki, and it ended 122–86.
Q 29How many points did Dirk Nowitzki score in Game 1 of the 2011 West finals vs the Thunder?
48
He shot 12-for-15 from the field and 24-for-24 from the line.
Q 30By how many points did the Mavericks trail in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the 2011 Finals before rallying?
15
Trailing 88–73, they closed on a 22–5 run to stun Miami.