Best draft picks in Dallas Mavericks history
The draft is a seminal moment for many incoming players. Putting aside competitive stakes, each young athlete's life is irreversibly altered by the fame and fortune that comes with being an NBA player. The exorbitant contract values ensures these players almost never have to worry about personal finances. Plus, these young guns get to play alongside some of their basketball idols for a living. With these high stakes, it's easy to see why the draft is so revered.
Likewise, the fortunes of a city and franchise can be completely transformed by a draft pick. LeBron James, for instance, brought Cleveland its first sports championship in 52 years and was also reportedly worth hundreds of millions to the city's downtown economy. It almost goes without saying that Michael Jordan built the Chicago Bulls from the ground up into a championship team whose dynamic would reverberate through the decades.
With that in mind, Stacker compiled a list of the best draft picks in Dallas Mavericks history using data from Basketball-Reference.com. Players were ranked according to a formula that approximates their career achievements, career value, and play quality. The formula encompasses Basketball-Reference.com's Hall of Fame probability, career win shares, and value over replacement player, aka VORP. For players drafted before data is available for VORP, half of the player's win shares were used in its place to calculate their Stacker score.
Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were given a minimum of 60% for their Hall of Fame probability, indicating a worthy résumé for their time but not up to par with some modern players. Scores were normalized to 100 based on the scoring leader. Keep reading to see where your favorite players fall on the list.
#30. Sean Rooks
- Stacker score: 1.0
- 30th overall pick in 1992
- Played three seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 6.2 PTS, 3.8 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 16.2 win shares, -2.9 box plus/minus, -3.1 VORP
#29. Elston Turner
- Stacker score: 1.1
- 43rd overall pick in 1981
- Played three seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 4.7 PTS, 2.7 REB, 1.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 8.5 win shares, -2.0 box plus/minus, 0.0 VORP
#28. Rodrigue Beaubois
- Stacker score: 1.1
- 25th overall pick in 2009
- Played four seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 7.1 PTS, 1.9 REB, 2.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 4.8 win shares, -0.1 box plus/minus, 1.4 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2011 NBA Champ
#27. Cherokee Parks
- Stacker score: 1.3
- 12th overall pick in 1995
- Played one season with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 4.4 PTS, 3.6 REB, 0.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 11.8 win shares, -2.4 box plus/minus, -0.7 VORP
#26. Samaki Walker
- Stacker score: 1.4
- Ninth overall pick in 1996
- Played three seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 5.3 PTS, 4.7 REB, 0.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 14.2 win shares, -2.6 box plus/minus, -1.1 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2002 NBA Champ
#25. Etan Thomas
- Stacker score: 1.8
- 12th overall pick in 2000
- Career averages: 5.7 PTS, 4.7 REB, 0.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 14.9 win shares, -2.1 box plus/minus, -0.2 VORP
#24. Bill Garnett
- Stacker score: 1.9
- Fourth overall pick in 1982
- Played two seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 5.5 PTS, 4.3 REB, 1.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 10.8 win shares, -0.8 box plus/minus, 1.6 VORP
#23. Pat Garrity
- Stacker score: 2.6
- 19th overall pick in 1998
- Career averages: 7.3 PTS, 2.6 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 18.7 win shares, -1.8 box plus/minus, 0.5 VORP
#22. Roy Tarpley
- Stacker score: 3.7
- Seventh overall pick in 1986
- Played six seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 12.6 PTS, 10.0 REB, 1.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 19.8 win shares, -0.2 box plus/minus, 3.4 VORP
#21. Greg Buckner
- Stacker score: 3.7
- 53rd overall pick in 1998
- Played four seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 5.0 PTS, 2.8 REB, 1.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 20.9 win shares, -0.9 box plus/minus, 3.0 VORP
#20. Eduardo Nájera
- Stacker score: 4.2
- 38th overall pick in 2000
- Played five seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 4.9 PTS, 3.7 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 24.7 win shares, -0.9 box plus/minus, 3.0 VORP
#19. Jay Vincent
- Stacker score: 4.4
- 24th overall pick in 1981
- Played five seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 15.2 PTS, 5.5 REB, 2.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 27.5 win shares, -1.3 box plus/minus, 2.6 VORP
#18. Lucious Harris
- Stacker score: 5.2
- 28th overall pick in 1993
- Played three seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 7.2 PTS, 2.3 REB, 1.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 28.7 win shares, -0.9 box plus/minus, 4.5 VORP
#17. Mark West
- Stacker score: 5.7
- 30th overall pick in 1983
- Played one season with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 5.7 PTS, 4.9 REB, 0.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 41.9 win shares, -1.8 box plus/minus, 1.1 VORP
#16. Jalen Brunson
- Stacker score: 5.7
- 33rd overall pick in 2018
- Played four seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 14.3 PTS, 3.1 REB, 4.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 26.0 win shares, 1.0 box plus/minus, 7.0 VORP
#15. Jim Jackson
- Stacker score: 7.4
- Fourth overall pick in 1992
- Played five seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 14.3 PTS, 4.7 REB, 3.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 35.8 win shares, -0.9 box plus/minus, 8.2 VORP
#14. Josh Howard
- Stacker score: 8.3
- 29th overall pick in 2003
- Played seven seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 14.3 PTS, 5.7 REB, 1.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 38.0 win shares, 0.6 box plus/minus, 10.0 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1x All Star
#13. Jae Crowder
- Stacker score: 9.1
- 34th overall pick in 2012
- Played three seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 9.5 PTS, 4.3 REB, 1.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 41.3 win shares, 0.3 box plus/minus, 11.1 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.0%
#12. Jamal Mashburn
- Stacker score: 10.2
- Fourth overall pick in 1993
- Played four seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 19.1 PTS, 5.4 REB, 4.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 43.7 win shares, 0.3 box plus/minus, 13.4 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2002-03 All-NBA
--- 1x All Star
#11. Devin Harris
- Stacker score: 12.4
- Fifth overall pick in 2004
- Played 10 seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 10.8 PTS, 2.2 REB, 3.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 54.9 win shares, 0.6 box plus/minus, 15.5 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1x All Star
#10. Luka Dončić
- Stacker score: 14.1
- Third overall pick in 2018
- Played five seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 27.6 PTS, 8.6 REB, 8.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 39.2 win shares, 7.2 box plus/minus, 26.4 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2018-19 ROY
--- 4x All-NBA
--- 4x All Star
#9. Kiki Vandeweghe
- Stacker score: 15.8
- 11th overall pick in 1980
- Career averages: 19.7 PTS, 3.4 REB, 2.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 75.6 win shares, 0.9 box plus/minus, 17.7 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x All Star
#8. Rolando Blackman
- Stacker score: 17.3
- Ninth overall pick in 1981
- Played 11 seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 18.0 PTS, 3.3 REB, 3.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 75.6 win shares, 0.4 box plus/minus, 19.8 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 4.8%
- Accolades
--- 4x All Star
#7. Mark Aguirre
- Stacker score: 18.5
- First overall pick in 1981
- Played eight seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 20.0 PTS, 5.0 REB, 3.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 67.8 win shares, 1.5 box plus/minus, 24.4 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 8.2%
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ
--- 3x All Star
#6. Dale Ellis
- Stacker score: 18.8
- Ninth overall pick in 1983
- Played three seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 15.7 PTS, 3.5 REB, 1.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 84.7 win shares, 0.6 box plus/minus, 22.9 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1988-89 All-NBA
--- 1x All Star
#5. Derek Harper
- Stacker score: 23.5
- 11th overall pick in 1983
- Played 12 seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 13.3 PTS, 2.4 REB, 5.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 86.8 win shares, 1.8 box plus/minus, 35.7 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x All-Defensive
#4. Sam Perkins
- Stacker score: 23.6
- Fourth overall pick in 1984
- Played six seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 11.9 PTS, 6.0 REB, 1.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 105.4 win shares, 1.2 box plus/minus, 29.1 VORP
#3. Detlef Schrempf
- Stacker score: 25.8
- Eighth overall pick in 1985
- Played four seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 13.9 PTS, 6.2 REB, 3.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 109.5 win shares, 1.8 box plus/minus, 32.4 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 3.3%
- Accolades
--- 1994-95 All-NBA
--- 3x All Star
#2. Jason Kidd
- Stacker score: 59.8
- Second overall pick in 1994
- Played eight seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 12.6 PTS, 6.3 REB, 8.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 138.6 win shares, 3.8 box plus/minus, 73.5 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2011 NBA Champ
--- 5x AST Champ
--- 1994-95 ROY
--- Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
#1. Dirk Nowitzki
- Stacker score: 72.4
- Ninth overall pick in 1998
- Played 21 seasons with Dallas Mavericks
- Career averages: 20.7 PTS, 7.5 REB, 2.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 206.3 win shares, 4.5 box plus/minus, 84.8 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 100.0%
- Accolades
--- 2011 NBA Champ
--- 2006-07 MVP
--- 2010-11 Finals MVP
--- 12x All-NBA
