The Story of the Dallas Mavericks
Established in 1980 as an expansion team, the Dallas Mavericks entered the Western Conference and the Southwest Division with the aim of providing another Texan franchise in the NBA
Although the state already had the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets, Dallas has since embraced the Mavericks, proving it to be a great decision indeed.
A chequered history of early success
However, looking at the Mavericks’ honours list, it’s fair to say that Dallas have not been too successful in the four-plus decades they’ve been in existence. It took the Mavericks six years to win their first division, landing the Midwest Division title. However, their run in the postseason play-offs was short-lived, losing 3-1 to the Seattle SuperSonics. That was about as good as it got then, with All-Stars such as Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman leading the way.
During the 1990s, the Mavericks embarked on a period of rebuilding, although the likes of Quinn Buckner flattered to deceive as head coach of the team. In fact, Buckner was fired despite being only one year into a five-year contract with the Mavericks.
The power of Nowitzki and Dončić
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It wasn’t until the late 1990s when Dallas would truly experience a new era following the capture of power forward, Dirk Nowitzki, who would go on to become the lynchpin of the franchise for more than two decades. With Nowitzki leading the charge, he would almost single-handedly power the Mavericks all the way to their first NBA Finals in 2006 after winning their first of three Western Conference titles.
Five years later, they would go one better, winning the 2011 Western Conference before going on to make history by winning the NBA Championships for the first time in Mavericks history. Dallas overcame Miami Heat 4-2, with Nowitzki unsurprisingly named MVP of the 2011 NBA Finals.
It’s been over a decade since Dallas’ historic victory, but this June they have the chance to replicate that success after reaching the 2024 NBA Finals. They are due to lock horns with Boston Celtics in their best-of-seven-game final. At the time of writing, they are priced as the 2.875 outsiders to win the 2024 NBA Championship with Parimatch, which is listed number one in the NBA guide at The Punters Page for UK-based punters based on its choice of NBA-specific promotions and live betting markets.
The signing of Luka Dončić, whose draft rights were acquired by Dallas from the Atlanta Hawks in 2018, has also proved masterful. The Mavericks spent time on the fringes of the postseason playoffs following their NBA Championship win in 2011 but Dončić has had a similar impact to Nowitzki in giving Dallas genuine star quality at the top end of the court. In 2021, Dallas won only their fourth Divisional title but eventually lost in the first round of the playoffs to the LA Clippers.