Team:
Dallas Mavericks
Sport: NBA Basketball
Background: The Dallas Mavericks
are a National Basketball Association team
based in Dallas, Texas. They are owned by
Mark Cuban.
Founded: 1980
Home Arena: American Airlines
Center
Uniform colors: Midnight
blue, White, Blue, and Silver
Logo design: A horse's head
superimposed over a basketball
Franchise history:
The Dallas Mavericks joined the NBA
in 1980-81 and quickly became a competitive
franchise. With premium draft selections the
team steadily improved through the 1980s-Dallas
looked like a team of the future. Then in
the early 1990s the Mavericks experienced
one of the most precipitous declines in NBA
history. The team's descent was so complete
that it twice threatened the worst single-season
record ever recorded. But with a solid core
of young, talented players, the Mavericks
should be able to start climbing their way
back up the NBA ladder.
Before welcoming the Mavericks in 1980, Dallas
had been home to the Chaparrals of the American
Basketball Association from 1967-68 to 1972-73.
On March 26, 1973, the Chaparrals played the
Carolina Cougars in the last ABA game played
at Dallas Memorial Auditorium-the paid attendance
was 134. The next season the Chaparrals became
the San Antonio Spurs, and for the next seven
years Dallas was without a professional basketball
franchise.
