They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
From 1983 to 1990, the Mavericks, led by key players including Mark Aguirre, Brad Davis and Rolando Blackman, made the postseason six out of seven times, appearing in the conference finals in 1988.
For the rest of the decade the Mavericks were dreadful: they bottomed out with an 11–71 record and the worst average point differential in NBA history[1] during the 1992–93 season.
Leading by the trio of Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash, they returned to the playoffs in 2001 and to the conference finals in 2003.
While Nash and Finley left in 2004 and 2005 respectively, Nowitzki emerged as the team's leader, leading the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance in 2006, only to lose to the Miami Heat.