The Mavs (Dallas Mavericks) have been one of the most successfully NBA franchises of the past decade. Under the ownership of Mark Cuban and star player Dirk Nowitzki, the team has been one of the regular season powerhouses for most of the decade. They have provided some very memorable moments and got the the NBA Finals in 2006. Unfortunately for anyone that had Mavs tickets for that, they ran into a tough Miami Heat team that feature Dwyane Wade and Shaq. But they are poised to have a great season and post-season and should be looking very good all year.

The Mavs were founded in 1980 and have since won two Division Titles as well as one Western Conference Championship. There used to be an ABA Dallas team named the Dallas Chaparrals (a type of bird) but they moved to San Antonio to become the Spurs in 1973. The name Mavericks was chosen in honor of the TV western series of the same name that starred James Garner, who played Maverick and was also on the team ownership group. They play home games at the American Airlines Center, a $420 million monument to basketball. Forbes Magazine says the Mavs are the seventh most valuable in the NBA with a net worth of about $466 million. The Mavs were bought by Mark Cuban in 2000 for 285 million from an ownership group that featured former presidential Candidate Ross Perot.