1997 Western Conference Championship

Lore & Background

The Mavericks have played their home games at the American Airlines Center since 2001. The franchise's first head coach was Dick Motta, who served for two non-consecutive stints. Rick Carlisle is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (961), the most regular season wins (513), the most regular-season losses (448), the most playoff games coached (64), and the most playoff wins (27). Avery Johnson is the franchise's all-time leader for the highest winning percentage in the regular season (.735).

Don Nelson is named one of the top 10 coaches in NBA history. Johnson led the Mavericks to the franchise's first Finals appearance in 2006, only to lose to the Miami Heat in six games. Johnson is also the only Mavericks coach to have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award. Rick Carlisle led the Mavericks to the franchise's first NBA Championship in its second Finals appearance, defeating the Miami Heat in six games in the 2011 NBA Finals. Jason Kidd, a player in the Mavericks' 2011 championship team, became coach in 2021.

Reader's Guide

There have been nine head coaches for the Mavericks franchise. Dick Motta coached for nine seasons with the Mavericks. Quinn Buckner and Jim Cleamons have spent their entire NBA head coaching careers with the Mavericks. Only one of the Mavericks coaches, Don Nelson, has been elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach.