The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based out of Dallas, Texas. They are in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association. The team currently plays all home games at the American Airlines Center. As of January 2010, the Mavericks have won 50 games in nine straight seasons. However, they have yet to win an NBA championship. Their lone NBA finals visit came in 2006, when they lost to the Miami Heat in six games.

Because of the presence of Nowitzki alongside other stars such as Caron Butler, Jason Terry, and Jason Kidd, the Mavericks have clinched a spot in the 2010 playoffs and have also won the Southwest Division.

The Mavericks franchise technically began when Don Carter requested the rights to bring an NBA team in Dallas in 1979. One year later, the team made their first draft pick in Kiki Vandewedghe out of UCLA. However, Vandewedghe was eventually traded to the Denver Nuggets after refusing to play for the expansion team. During the inaugural season, the Mavericks eventually acquired point guard Brad Davis, who emerged as a leader during the team's early era and is one of only two players (along with Rolando Blackman) to have his number retired.

Until 2001, the Mavericks used Reunion Arena as their home stadium. As a successful team in the late 1980's, fans of the team began to be known as "Reunion Rowdies" due to their passion and enthusiasm for the team.

The Mavericks never managed to get past the Western Conference finals in that era of winning. Their furthest appearance until 2006 came when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in game seven of the conference finals. After that point, the team began a slow descent that lasted for the entire 1990's.

1998 marked a turning point as the team traded the draft rights to Robert "Tractor" Traylor to the Milwaukee Bucks for the rights to Dirk Nowitzki (along with veteran Pat Garrity) during the NBA Draft. Nowitzki has since become the club's all-time leading scorer. With Nowitzki on the team the club has made the playoffs every season since the 2000-2001 campaign; however, these appearance have not led to an NBA title.

• 1984: lost in the conference semi-finals to the Los Angeles Lakers

• 1985: lost in the first round to the Portland Trail Blazers

• 1986: lost in the conference semi-finals to the Los Angeles Lakers

• 1986: lost in the conference semi-finals to the Los Angeles Lakers

• 1987: lost in the first round to the Seattle Supersonics

• 1988: lost in the conference finals to the Los Angeles Lakers

• 1990: lost in the first round to the Portland Trail Blazers

• 2001: lost in the conference semi-finals to the San Antonio Spurs

• 2002: lost in the conference semi-finals to the Sacramento Kings

• 2003: lost in the conference finals to the San Antonio Spurs

• 2004: lost in the first round to the Sacramento Kings

• 2005: lost in the second round to the Phoenix Suns

• 2006: lost in the NBA finals to the Miami Heat

• 2007: lost in the first round to the Golden State Warriors

• 2008: lost in the first round to the New Orleans Hornets

• 2009: lost in the conference semi-finals to the Denver Nuggets

• 2010: lost in the first round to the San Antonio Spurs