Top 10 Dallas Mavericks

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In putting together a list of the top 10 Mavericks, they seem to have had a surplus of small men and been a little light on big men. Still, all in all, they had some nice players wear the Mavericks uniform over the years. 

10: James Donaldson While the Mavs haven't had a lot of big, physical types in the middle, James Donaldson was one of those type of guys. At 7'2' Donaldson was an inside presence. He also wasn't a skinny 7'2”. In seven years in Dallas, James averaged 8.8 points and 9.5 rebounds. While James didn't score a lot of points, he was efficient, shooting 55.1% from the field and a nice 76.1% from the line. James wasn't flashy, he was just a good, no frills NBA center.

9: Sam Perkins Before Sam made his way to the Lakers, he had a nice run in Dallas. Sam, somewhat like James Donaldson, was a consistent producer without a lot of flash. Perkins spent his first six seasons in the NBA with the Mavericks, scoring 14.4 ppg and pulling down 8 rebounds per game. His playoff numbers matched his regular season numbers almost perfectly. While Perkins wasn't a prolific scorer, he was an efficient one, shooting 48.7% from the field and 81.4% from the line. Perkins was a solid performer and gets the ninth slot.

8: Jim Jackson At 6'6” Jim Jackson looked like the prototypical NBA guard. He also played like one. Jackson score 19.6 ppg in his 5 seasons in Dallas. He also had 4,9 rebounds and 3.8 assists to go with that. Jackson's high water point was 1994-95 when he averaged 25.7 ppg. The Mavericks have had a number of guys who were primarily scorers. Jim was a little more prolific than most.

7: Jason Kidd Jason was a guy who could fill up all the columns on a score sheet. The fact that he makes this list despite shooting less than 40% is a testimony to his floor game and all around skills. The fact that he's on this team and will probably be on two more also shows he got around. Jason averaged 10.5 ppg game, but his real value was his 8.4 assists pg. He also chipped in with 5.5 rebounds. Kidd might have been higher on this list, but the bulk of his years in Dallas were at the back end of his career.

6: Michael Finley Michael was another Mav who score, pick off a few rebounds and put together some assists. In 9 seasons in Dallas, Finley averaged 19.8. Michael also led the league in average minutes played three times, so Michael was extremely durable. While he was at it, Finley pulled down 5.2 rebounds and dished out 3.8 assists. Michael's playoff production was down just a bit. He went for 17.8 points on 43.4% shooting. Michael Finley in at number six.

5: Derek Harper Derek spent 12 seasons with the Mavs and was a solid performer at guard on both offense and defense. Derek had 4 seasons in the NBA's top ten in steals. He was a consistent score, averaging 14.4 ppg. He was also good for 5.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds. Harper averaged his 14.4 points on 12 shots per game, so Derek didn't throw up a lot of shots. Harper was just a solid point guard and comes in at number five.

4: Mark Aguirre The dude could just flat out score. Mark averaged 24.6 ppg in his 8 years in Dallas. He was a three time all star. Aguirre's stats for the playoffs reflected a more balanced game. Mark's scoring was down slightly at 23.0 but raised his rebounds to 6.7 and and 3.7 assists. Aguirre was an excellent inside scorer for a guy who was 6'6”. As I think about it, Mark was Carmelo Anthony before there was a Carmelo Anthony.

3: Rolando Blackmon As I've mentioned earlier, the Mavs have had a bunch of guys who could score the ball. A lot of them were shooting guards. Of that crop of players, Rolando Blackmon was the best. Blackmon had an 11 year run in Dallas and put up 19.2 ppg on 49.7% shooting from the field and 84% from the line. Blackmon reminds me of a more consistent Jim Jackson. Ro upped his production in the playoffs, scoring 21.6 ppg to go with 3.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Blackmon gets the number tree slot by virtue of being a franchise cornerstone for over a decade.

2: Steve Nash Steve Nash was simply an incredibly skilled player. While Nash's scoring average was only 14.6, he was an amazing shooter. He was the best three point shooter on this list, hitting 41.6% from beyond the arc. His overall shooting percentage was 46.8% As he was throughout his career, Nash was money from the line, hitting 89.8%. His assist average 7.2. While not what it was when he went to Phoenix, it was still impressive. Steve Nash comes in at number two.

1: Dirk Nowitski No surprise here. Dirk is the face of the Mavericks franchise. Nowitzki led the Mavericks to their only championship. The Mavs might have had a shot a second championship if the refs hadn't sent Dwade to the free throw line every time a Maverick looked at him. But I digress. Nowitzki is first an foremost a great scorer. At about 7 foot tall, Dirk is an amazing shooter. Dirk is in his 18^th season with the Mavs and has averaged 21.6 ppg. Nowitzki's best scoring season was 2005-06 when he averaged 26.6. He scored 20 or more ppg for 12 consecutive seasons. Dirk has shooting range, hitting 38.2% of his three point attempts. Nowitzki also has averaged 7.8 rebounds per game. I was surprised that Dirk had two top 10 finishes in defensive shares. Who knew? Nowtizki is a no brainer as the greatest Dallas Maverick.

There are my top 10 Mavericks, who are yours? 



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