Best Dallas Mavericks players ever: Ranking 10 best Mavericks players of all time

Josh Howard made the All-Star team in 2006-07 with averages of 18.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals. He played second-fiddle to Dirk Nowitzki and excelled in that role, helping the team reach the 2006 NBA Finals before running into Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. Throughout his career with the Mavericks, Howard was a very consistent scoring option, averaging 15.3 points while shooting 47.8% from the field and 34% from three over 431 games. 

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During the 2000s, Michael Finley was looked at as one of the most underrated scorers. He averaged over 20 points per game in five straight seasons with Dallas. Over 626 games with the team, he scored 19.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. The two-time All-Star averaged the most minutes per game throughout his stint, with 39.7 over seven seasons. He placed top-20 in MVP voting three times with the Dallas Mavericks. Finley now serves as the Mavericks’ vice president of basketball operations.

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Jason Terry played an important part in the 2011 Dallas Mavericks championship team that shocked the world by taking down the Miami Heat. In that series, he averaged 18 points per game, but he contributed to the franchise in many other ways during his eight-year run. The 2008-09 Sixth Man of the Year is regarded as one of the best three-point shooters in NBA history. He made 1,140 three-pointers with the Mavs, third-most in franchise history. With 16.1 points per game with the team, Terry thrived in his role of coming off the bench and elevating the Dallas offense.

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Although Steve Nash did not reach his prime until his time with the Phoenix Suns, his presence was definitely felt during his early years in Dallas. Across six seasons with the organization, he made two all-star games, averaging 14.6 points and 7.2 assists per game. Nash, along with Dirk Nowitzki, helped the franchise end a 10-year playoff drought in 2001. He was not only one of the best passers in the league, but he was a consistent threat from three-point range, shooting 41.6%.

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Derek Harper was one of the best two-way guards of his era, as he made an All-Defensive team twice in his career. He is the franchise’s all-time leader in assists with 5,111 and steals at 1,551. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 14.4 points and 5.9 assists across 872 games with the team but never made an all-star team. Harper places top 10 in field goals, three-pointers, and games played for the franchise during 11 seasons in Dallas.

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Four-time All-Star Rolando Blackman is one of the most prolific scorers in franchise history. He averaged 19.2 points during his stint with the team, including a career-best 22.4 points per game in the 1983-84 season, which was just his third year in the league. The 6-foot-6 guard ranks top 10 in field goals, rebounds, assists, and field goal percentage while playing the fourth-most games in franchise history with 862.

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Jason Kidd is often regarded as one of the best pure point guards this league has ever witnessed. The Dallas Mavericks drafted him No. 2 overall in the 1994 NBA Draft and he won Rookie of the Year. Kidd had two stints with the team and played a major part in the 2011 championship squad, with averages of 7.7 points, 6.3 points, and 4.5 rebounds in the series. In 500 games with the Mavs, he posted 10.5 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.5 rebounds.  The Hall of Famer played in two All-Star games during his time and ranks top three in assists, triple-doubles, and steals per game. 

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Arguably the best small forward in franchise history, Mark Aguirre averaged 24.6 points and 5.7 rebounds during eight seasons with the Mavs. The three-time All-Star finished top-15 in MVP voting three times and he was the second leading scorer in the NBA during the 1983-84 season (29.5 PPG). Aguirre scored at a high rate and he was very efficient, shooting 49.5% from the field during his run with the team. He reached 40 or more points in 22 games, including a career-high 49 against the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1984-85 season.

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When it’s all said and done, Luka Doncic could overtake Dirk Nowitzki as the best Dallas Mavericks player of all time, but at just 25 years old, he has a ton of basketball left to be played. With that being said, he has accomplished several things in his young NBA career, such as already making five All-Star teams and five All-NBA Team selections. 

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The 2018-19 Rookie of the Year led the league in scoring this past season with 33.9 points per game. He is one of the most talented offensive players the NBA has ever seen and just six seasons into the league, he already places top five in three-point field goals, total rebounds, and assists. Doncic has the most triple-doubles in the team’s history with 77 and has helped the Mavs reach their first NBA Finals since 2011.

There is not much of an argument when it comes to who is the best Mavericks player of all time. Dirk Nowitzki played his entire 21-year NBA career in Dallas, averaging 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. The 2006-07 MVP led the Mavericks to their first NBA title in 2011, taking home Finals MVP.

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The Hall of Famer made 14 all-star teams and 12 All-NBA teams throughout his career. He changed the trajectory of the organization since being sent there on a draft day trade from the Milwaukee Bucks in 1998. Nowitzki set the standard for the organization and represented what it meant to put on that uniform.