They joined the Midwest Division of the Western Conference, where they would stay until the league went to six divisions for the 2004–05 season.

The University of Texas at Arlington, who also uses the Mavericks nickname, had objections about a shared name but did not attempt any legal action. James Garner, who played the title character, was a member of the ownership group. Īt the 1980 NBA All-Star Game, league owners voted to admit the new team, with the team's name coming from the 1957–1962 TV western Maverick the fans chose the title with 4,600 postcards received, beating Wranglers and Express. (The Minnesota Timberwolves would not join until 1989.) Through negotiations with general counselor and future commissioner David Stern, the expansion fee was settled on $12.5 million. Once the potential Minnesota owners backed out, only Dallas remained. Still, during the 1979 NBA All-Star Game weekend, NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien announced the league would add two new teams in the 1980–81 season, with teams in Dallas and Minneapolis. The 1978–79 season was proving unprofitable (18 out of the 22 teams lost money) and unpopular (television ratings fell 26 percent). The league was initially reluctant to expand to Dallas, given Texas had both the Spurs and Houston Rockets. Sonju and Carter tried purchasing both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Kansas City Kings, but disagreement on relocation stalled the negotiations, leading them to instead aim for an expansion team. He was introduced to Carter by Mayor Robert Folsom, one of the owners and team president of the last professional basketball team in the city, the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association, which moved to San Antonio in 1973 becoming the San Antonio Spurs. While the Braves went to California as the San Diego Clippers, Sonju eventually returned to Texas. Simultaneously, Buffalo Braves president and general manager Norm Sonju developed an interest in bringing the NBA to Dallas as he studied possible new locations for the ailing franchise. Negotiations with Eckardt fell through, but Carter remained interested in the enterprise as a gift to his wife Linda, who played basketball while at Duncanville High School. Asking for a possible partner, Adkins recommended him one of his clients, Home Interiors and Gifts owner Don Carter. In 1978, Californian businessman Garn Eckardt met Dallas lawyer Doug Adkins and mentioned he was trying to raise capital to move an NBA team to Dallas. See also: List of Dallas Mavericks seasons 1978–1981: The creation and early years of the Mavericks Since the Mavericks' inaugural 1980–81 season, the Mavericks have won four division titles ( 1987, 2007, 2010, 2021), two conference championships ( 2006, 2011), and one NBA championship ( 2011).

Ĭurrently, the Dallas Mavericks are owned by investor Mark Cuban. The sellout streak, which includes 67 playoff games, is the longest currently running in North American major league sports. In February 2020, the Mavericks sold out their NBA-record 815th consecutive game, dating back to December 15, 2001. Led by Luka Dončić, who was named the 2019 Rookie of the Year, the Mavericks returned to the playoffs in 2020 and reached the Western Conference Finals in 2022 for the first time since their 2011 championship. They missed the playoffs in three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019, after which Nowitzki retired following his record-breaking 21st season with Dallas.

The Mavericks later entered a rebuilding phase in the tail end of Nowitzki's storied career. In 1998, the franchise's fortunes would change drastically with the acquisition of Dirk Nowitzki, who would become the cornerstone of the most successful period in franchise history, leading the team to its first and only NBA championship in 2011. The team struggled during the 1990s, entering into a period of rebuilding. Throughout the 1980s, the Mavericks were a perennial playoff team, led by All-Stars Rolando Blackman and Mark Aguirre.

The team plays its home games at the American Airlines Center, which it shares with the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas.

Dallas mavericks roster 2000