Kiki Vandeweghe of UCLA was drafted by the Mavs with the 11th pick of the 1980 NBA draft but refused to play for the expansion Mavericks and staged a holdout that lasted a month into the team's inaugural season. Vandeweghe was traded to the Denver Nuggets, along with a first-round pick, in 1981, in exchange for two future first-round picks that eventually put Rolando Blackman (1981) and Sam Perkins (1984) in Mavericks uniforms.

In 1989-90, Derek Harper set a Mavericks record with 187 steals. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he had the 11th most steals in NBA history.

In 1986, Roy Tarpley was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the seventh pick of the NBA draft. Tarpley made the NBA All-Rookie Team in his first season and won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award the following year, when he averaged 13.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.

The Mavericks wound up with the number two pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and picked up Cal point guard Jason Kidd, who infused the Mavericks with new life in 1994-95, averaging 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists in his rookie season and leading the league in triple-doubles.

The 1996-97 season was a year of transition for the Mavericks who basically re-designed their entire roster. 27 different players saw action for Dallas that year, setting an all-time NBA record. By the time the season was over, only rookie forward Samaki Walker remained from the opening-day roster.

During the 1983-84 NBA season Mark Aguirre averaged 29.5 points per game. He finished the season with 2,330 total points.

On March 10, 1994, power forward Popeye Jones collected 12 offensive rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers without a single defensive rebound.

On January 14, 2000, Ross Perot's group sold the Dallas Mavericks to Internet entrepreneur and season ticket-holder Mark Cuban for $285 million. Cuban immediately set out to revitalize the Mavericks and increase the team's popularity in Dallas and nationwide. His controversial moves (he allowed Dennis Rodman to live in his house for a week before temporarily signing him) and outspoken personality quickly made him a fan favorite in Dallas and garnered the team lots of press in the national media. He has also been fined millions of dollars for violating NBA rules.

Avery Johnson led the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance and to three consecutive 50+ win seasons. But despite his .735 winning percentage, he was dismissed as head coach on April 30, 2008, following the Mavs' first round elimination from the playoffs.

Prior to the 2005 NBA draft, the Mavericks traded all their picks away and were left empty-handed.