Dallas Mavericks Tickets : There Have Been Nine Head Coaches For The Mavericks Franchise

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 two conference championships. 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.

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 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 refereeing 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.

As the 2010s began, the Mavericks still had Nowitzki, Kidd and Jason Terry plus other pieces such as Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea and Caron Butler. They returned to the NBA Finals after winning 57 games and dethroning the previous year's champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, in the second round. The Mavericks have won 50 or more games in 11 consecutive seasons, a stark contrast to the 10-season streak of losing seasons from the 1990-91 to the 1999-2000 seasons.

There have been nine head coaches for the Mavericks franchise. The franchise's first head coach was Dick Motta, who served for two non-consecutive stints, and coached for nine seasons with the Mavericks. Motta is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (738); Don Nelson, Donnie Nelson's father, is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season game wins (339).

Nelson is also named one of the top 10 coaches in NBA history. Johnson is the only coach to have ever won the Western Conference championship, but lost the 2006 NBA Finals to the Miami Heat.Johnson is also the only Mavericks coach to have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award, having won it in the 2005/06 season.

Quinn Buckner and Jim Cleamons have spent their entire NBA coaching careers with the Mavericks. None of the Mavericks coaches have been elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. Rick Carlisle has been the head coach of the Mavericks since 2008.