On Friday’s Galloway and Company radio show, Randy Galloway mentioned that, at 31-21, the Dallas Mavericks had their worst record at the All-Star break in the last 10 years. So I wondered… how do the Mavericks’ record compared to the San Antonio Spurs over the last twenty years. Just because. Observations after the jump. For now, enjoy the graph.
Some observations:
- Before 1990, the Spurs record is pretty dismal, and had been for years. What happened in 1990? David Robinson
- Since 1990, The Mavericks have had exactly 2 years better than the Spurs: 1997 and 2007.
- Since David Robinson’s arrival the Spurs enjoyed 7 straight years of the playoffs. The dip in ‘97 happened when Robinson was lost to injury for the year. Their low record and a lucky bounce in the lottery allowed San Antonio to select Tim Duncan with the first pick of the 1997 NBA Draft, their only pick that year. Dallas had three picks that year, and selected Kelvin Cato at 15, Christ Anstey at 18, and Bubba Wells at 35.
- Dallas ended the 1990 season with a record over .500, but it wouldn’t see one again for 11 years.
- Even though Mark Cuban has often been credited with turning the Mavericks around when he bought the team in 2000, the Mavericks were already well on a two year dramatic bounce by the time he came on board.
- In 2003, the Mavericks and the Spurs ended with the exact same winning percentage (.732).
- In 2007, the Mavericks had the best winning percentage in the NBA at .817.
Written by Jean Valjean
