Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. They play in the American Airlines Center in Dallas. 
Dallas entered the NBA for the 1980-1981 season. The team had its first winning season in 1983-1984. Dallas won its only division championship in 1986-1987. The stars of that team included forwards Sam Perkins and Mark Aguirre and guards Rolando Blackman and Derek Harper.
Dallas had losing seasons throughout the 1990’s but developed into one of the strongest teams in the conference in the early 2000’s. The leading players on those teams included forwards Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley and guard Steve Nash. Dallas won 60 games during the 2002-2003 regular season, tying San Antonio for the most victories that season in the NBA. The Mavericks won the Western Conference championship for the 2005-2006 season but lost in the NBA finals to the Miami Heat. Dallas won 67 games during the 2006-2007 season, the most in the NBA. However, the Mavericks lost to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs in one of the biggest upsets in league history. 
Dallas won the division title in 2009-2010 but lost in the first round of the playoffs to San Antonio. The Mavericks won their first NBA championship in 2011, defeating Miami 4 games to 2. Stars of the team included Nowitzki and guards Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. In 2019, Luka Dončić, a talented guard from Slovenia, was named Rookie of the Year for his play during the 2018-2019 NBA season.
