The Dallas Mavs proved in the 2000’s that they are not the same franchise that was one of the laughing stocks of the NBA. In the 2000’s, the Mavericks made it to the playoffs in all ten seasons and were able to turn one of those trips into an NBA Finals appearance. There is no reason to think that playoff streak will be ending in the very near future. As long as they got their number one man from the 2000’s in Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs should always be right up there in the mix. Here are the best five Dallas Mavericks from 2001-2010. (Only accomplishments and stats while playing for the Dallas Mavericks from 2000-2010 were considered.)
1. Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk has played his entire 11-year NBA career with the Dallas Mavs, with all but his rookie season coming in the 2000’s. He has made nine Western Conference All-Star teams and eight All-NBA teams. In 2007, he won the NBA MVP Award with 24.6 points and 8.9 rebounds a game. He has been the go-to guy and glue of the Dallas Mavericks for the past decade, keeping them always in the NBA Championship contender conversation.
2. Michael Finley
I feel like Finley is the forgotten great Dallas Mavs player of the 2000’s. Dirk has been crowned the king of the franchise, and Nash went on to become a NBA MVP, but in all of that smoke, we don’t get to realize how much Finley meant to this team. Finley played five seasons with Dallas in the 2000’s, providing them with a scoring guard/small forward that could not only put up 18-22 points a game, but also grab rebounds, dish out a few assists and hit plenty of three pointers.
3. Steve Nash
Nash is more well know for his run-and-gun days with the Phoenix Suns, but it is with the Dallas Mavs that he started to blossom into one of the best players in NBA. Before joining the Mavs, Nash was considered a bust, but he slowly improved to become the composer of the Mavs potent offense. He made the Western Conference All-Star team in 2002 and in 2003 while with the Mavs. It is scary to think how good the Mavs would’ve been if Nash would have remained with the team when he hit the peak of his talents and became a perennial MVP candidate.
4. Jason Terry
On July 1st, 2006, the first day that the class of 2006 NBA free agents could sign with a team, Terry inked a six year deal with the Dallas Mavs. In his six seasons with the Mavs, Terry has started some and played some off the bench, but either way, he scored and often it was from the three-point line. In 2009, Terry won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.
5. Josh Howard
The Dallas Mavs stole Josh Howard in the 2003 NBA draft with the 29th pick of the first round, which means some teams really messed up. They passed him up for the likes of Dahntay Jones, Brian Cook and Sasha Pavlovic. All Howard did with the Mavs was give them a number two or three scoring option that could drop in 15-20 points per game. What a waste of a 29th pick, huh?
