Dallas debuted 15-67 in 1980-81 and needed three decades to win its only championship, in 2011. Cooper Flagg, who averaged 21.0 points last season, is the latest cornerstone the franchise is building around, in a camp already shadowed by injury and front-office change.
A Rough Start By Design
The Mavericks entered the league as an expansion team for 1980-81, backed by Don Carter's half of a $12.5 million entry fee, and opened by beating San Antonio 103-92 before finishing 15-67. Three seasons later the 1981 draft delivered Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman, and by 1983-84 Dallas had its first winning record. The current group is earlier in that cycle: no games played yet in 2026-27, camp underway, and Cooper Flagg, taken with the first pick in the 2025 draft, already the franchise's leading scorer at 21.0 points a game last season.
One Trade Rewired The Roster
Dirk Nowitzki's 1998 arrival turned Dallas into a contender that reached three NBA Finals and won the 2011 title before Luka Doncic inherited the job and led another Finals run in 2024. Doncic's trade to the Lakers in February 2025 brought back Anthony Davis and, later, Max Christie, who logged 12.3 points a game last season. That trade, not a draft class, is why P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford and Naji Marshall — all added by trade or free agency since 2024 — now surround a homegrown Flagg.
History's Warning On Health
James Donaldson's ruptured patella tendon in March 1989 preceded a stretch without a winning season until 2001, proof that this franchise's momentum has broken on injury before. Dereck Lively II, reported September 23 as not cleared for camp, is this year's version of that risk, arriving as Dallas carries $197.9 million in payroll against a $200.4 million tax line and little room to replace him. The 26-56 finish last season is the backdrop May and a reshuffled front office, including Michael Finley's new role since September 24, are trying to fix before the opener at Houston on October 21.
Have the Mavericks ever won an NBA championship?
Yes, in 2011, behind Dirk Nowitzki — the only title in franchise history, capping a run that included Finals trips in 2006 and 2024 under Nowitzki and later Luka Doncic.
How did the Dallas Mavericks get their name?
Fans chose it over Wranglers and Express, drawing on the 1957-1962 TV western Maverick; the show's star, James Garner, was part of the original ownership group.
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