Dallas Mavericks Tickets : The Mid-90s Were Considered The Only Positive Period For The Mavs

The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas, USA. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1980, the Mavericks have won three division titles and one conference championship (2006).

According to a 2011 Forbes Magazine report, they are the sixth most valuable basketball franchise in the United States, valued at approximately $438 million; the franchise is surpassed in value only by the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Chicago Bulls, the Boston Celtics, and the Houston Rockets.

For much of the 1980s, the Mavericks boast a very good team in the highly competitive Western Conference. Led by Mark Aguirre, original draft pick Brad Davis, Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper, Sam Perkins and Detlef Schrempf, the Mavericks made the playoffs six of seven times from 1983/90, winning the Midwest Division in 1986-87 and reaching the Western Conference Finals in 1988. However, they never made it deeper in the playoffs, due to the dominance of the Los Angeles Lakers at the time.

The 1990s were known as the Mavs' "dark ages". They never reached the playoffs from 1991 through 2000, bottoming out with an 11-71 record in 1992-93 and a 13-69 mark in 1993-94. Much of their freefall was blamed for various off-court and on-court distractions, particularly Roy Tarpley's drug abuse, which eventually got him banned from the NBA, and the injuries and former coach Quinn Buckner's disciplinary approach.

The mid-90s were considered the only positive period for the Mavs, led by The 3 J's: Jason Kidd, Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn. Kidd would become the most famous of the trio, winning Co-Rookie of the Year (with Grant Hill) in 1994-95 and eventually a perennial All-Star.

The Mavericks returned to prominence in the 2000s, first led by a new "Big Three" of Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash. With a new owner in Mark Cuban and head coach Don Nelson leading the crew, they returned to the playoffs in 2001, eventually returning to the Conference Finals in 2003. However the San Antonio Spurs would emerge as their main rivals, defeating them in the playoffs each time.

Nowitzki emerged as the team's leader, and with Avery Johnson coaching the team, the Mavericks would make their first NBA Finals appearance in 2006; along the way exacting revenge against the Spurs and defeating Steve Nash and the Suns. However after leading 2-0 to the Miami Heat, they lost the Finals' next four games, though some point to biased referring and others argue it was the result of the Curse of the Crease.

The Mavs' best regular season came in 2006-07, winning 67 games and earned the NBA's best record. Despite Nowitzki's MVP showing, the Mavericks were upset by their former coach Don Nelson and the 8th seeded Golden State Warriors in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. Kidd returned to the team in 2008, and with new coach Rick Carlisle leading the crew, the Mavericks maintained their winning form throughout the decade.