2018–19 Dallas Mavericks season

The 2018–19 Dallas Mavericks season was the 39th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). With an overtime loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on March 18, the Mavericks would once again have a losing season and not make the playoffs for the third consecutive year.

It was Dirk Nowitzki's 21st and final season with the Mavericks, making his season debut on December 13, 2018, against the Phoenix Suns. Not only would he break a record previously set by Kobe Bryant for the most seasons spent playing for a single NBA team, but he also became the fifth player in the NBA history to play in the league for 21 seasons.^[1] Believed by many as the greatest Maverick of all time, Nowitzki led the Mavs to 15 playoff appearances (2001-2012; 2014-2016), to a Finals appearance in 2006, and to their first championship title in 2011, defeating the Big 3-led Miami Heat. A 14-time NBA All-Star, Nowitzki is the first European player to start in an All-Star Game, and the first to win the MVP Award. He is also the highest scoring foreign-born player in NBA history and on March 18, 2019, became the 6th highest scoring player of all time, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain's 31,419 points. Nowitzki's retirement leaves former Maverick and fellow 1998 draftee Vince Carter (who played for the Atlanta Hawks) as the last remaining active player to have played in the 1990s. Additionally, Carter became the first player to play in 4 different decades after retiring the following season, a record that Nowitzki could have possibly achieved prior to announcing his retirement on April 9, 2019.

On January 31, 2019, the Mavericks acquired NBA All-Star Kristaps Porziņģis in exchange for Wesley Matthews and former no. 9 overall pick Dennis Smith Jr.

This was the last time that the Mavericks missed the playoffs until the 2022–23 season.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College / club
1	3	Luka Dončić[2]	SG	Slovenia	Real Madrid
2	33	Jalen Brunson[3]	PG	United States	Villanova
2	57	Ray Spalding[4]	PF	United States	Louisville
2	60	Kostas Antetokounmpo[5]	PF	Greece	Dayton

Entering the night of the draft, the Mavericks originally held only the fifth, thirty-third, and fifty-fourth picks of the 2018 NBA draft. The last of their second round picks was acquired from a three-way trade the previous season from the Denver Nuggets that also involved the New York Knicks. The Mavericks originally fell down a spot from fourth to fifth during the NBA Draft Lottery due to them originally missing out on the Top 3 selections, despite having the tiebreaker over the Atlanta Hawks for better odds there. This also resulted in them having the better second round pick over the Hawks by comparison. Ironically, by the night of the draft, Dallas traded their original first-round pick in the draft (which became Oklahoma Sooners point guard Trae Young) and a protected 2019 first-round pick to Atlanta in exchange for the Hawks' own first-round pick, which became the Slovenian superstar guard/forward Luka Dončić.^[6] Dončić is a combo guard/small forward that grew to be a very major contributor for Real Madrid Baloncesto in the EuroLeague and Spain's national Liga ACB, winning championships and MVP awards throughout his professional tenure there, including being named the youngest ever EuroLeague Final Four MVP that year.

During the beginning of the second round, the Mavericks selected point guard Jalen Brunson from Villanova University. Brunson was a key contributor for two out of three years of NCAA Championships during his time at Villanova, with his second championship year (final college year overall) also naming him both the consensus National College Player of the Year and All-American First Team member. Finally, with their last (54th) pick, they traded that selection (which became Southern Methodist University point guard Shake Milton) to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for their last two second round picks this year. With pick #57, the Mavericks received power forward Ray Spalding from Louisville University, while the very last selection of the 2018 NBA draft became combo forward Kostas Antetokounmpo, younger brother of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, from Dayton University. Antetokounmpo later signed a two-way contract to stay with the team on July 13, 2018.^[5]

2018–19 Dallas Mavericks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From F 37 Antetokounmpo, Kostas (TW) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997–11–20 Dayton G 5 Barea, J. J.  6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1984–06–26 Northeastern G/F 45 Broekhoff, Ryan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1990–08–23 Valparaiso G 13 Brunson, Jalen 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1996–08–31 Villanova G 23 Burke, Trey 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1992–11–12 Michigan G 77 Dončić, Luka 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1999–02–28 Slovenia F 10 Finney-Smith, Dorian 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1993–05–04 Florida G 11 Hardaway, Tim Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1992–03–16 Michigan G 34 Harris, Devin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1983–02–27 Wisconsin F 44 Jackson, Justin 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1995–03–28 North Carolina F 42 Kleber, Maxi 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1992–01–29 Germany G 1 Lee, Courtney 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1985–10–03 Western Kentucky G 3 Macon, Daryl (TW) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1995–11–29 Arkansas C 50 Mejri, Salah 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1986–06–15 Tunisia C 41 Nowitzki, Dirk 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1978-06-19 Germany F/C 6 Porziņģis, Kristaps  7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1995–08–02 Latvia F/C 7 Powell, Dwight 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1991–07–20 Stanford

Head coach Rick Carlisle Assistant coach(es) Darrell Armstrong Jamahl Mosley Larry Shyatt Stephen Silas Mike Weinar Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Last transaction: 2019–04–10

The preseason scheduled was announced on August 23, 2018.^[7]

The schedule was announced on August 10, 2018.^[8]

Player	Signed	Former team
DeAndre Jordan[24]	July 6, 2018	Los Angeles Clippers
Kostas Antetokounmpo[5]	July 13, 2018 (two-way contract)	Dayton Flyers
Ding Yanyuhang[25]	July 23, 2018	Shandong Golden Stars
Daryl Macon[26]	July 30, 2018 (two-way contract)	Arkansas Razorbacks
Terry Larrier[27]	July 31, 2018	Connecticut Huskies
Salah Mejri[28]	February 10, 2019	Dallas Mavericks
Codi Miller-McIntyre[29]	August 1, 2018	Parma Basket
Ryan Broekhoff[30]	August 6, 2018	Lokomotiv Kuban
Devin Harris[31]	August 8, 2018	Denver Nuggets
Donte Ingram[32]	October 8, 2018	Loyola Ramblers
Rashad Vaughn[32]		Orlando Magic

Player	Reason left	New team
Kyle Collinsworth[33][34]	Waived	Toronto Raptors
Seth Curry[35]	Signed 2-year, $2.75 million contract	Portland Trail Blazers
Ding Yanyuhang[36]	Waived	Texas Legends
Yogi Ferrell[37]	Signed 2-year, $6.2 million contract	Sacramento Kings
Donte Ingram[38]	Waived	Texas Legends
Jalen Jones[5][32]	Waived	Cleveland Cavaliers
Terry Larrier[39]	Waived
Doug McDermott[40]	Signed 3-year, $22 million contract	Indiana Pacers
Salah Mejri[21]	Waived	Dallas Mavericks
Codi Miller-McIntyre[32]	Waived	Zenit Saint Petersburg
Nerlens Noel[41]	Signed 2-year minimum contract	Oklahoma City Thunder
Chinanu Onuaku[42]	Waived	Portland Trail Blazers
Zach Randolph[43]	Waived
Ray Spalding[20]	Waived	Phoenix Suns
Rashad Vaughn[38]	Waived	Texas Legends
Jeff Withey[44]	Unrestricted free agent	Tofaş