The Mavericks' draft history is a mixed bag. Here are the highlights and lowlights since 2005.
All-time great picks:
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Luka Doncic — 3rd overall, 2018 (traded up from 5th) The franchise-altering pick. Traded the 5th pick and a future first to move up for Luka. He won Rookie of the Year and has been All-NBA every year since. One of the best draft moves in NBA history.
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Josh Howard — 29th overall, 2003 Became a 20 PPG scorer and All-Star. A late first-round steal who was a key piece of the mid-2000s Mavs.
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Jalen Brunson — 33rd overall, 2018 Picked in the second round, developed into a starting-caliber point guard, and was crucial in the 2022 playoff run. Dallas let him walk to the Knicks, which was a front-office mistake, but the pick itself was excellent.
The worst picks:
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Dennis Smith Jr. — 9th overall, 2017 Donovan Mitchell went 4 picks later. Bam Adebayo went 5 picks later. Smith Jr. never developed a reliable outside shot and was traded after 1.5 seasons.
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Shane Larkin — 18th overall, 2013 Played 67 games for Dallas with minimal impact. Giannis Antetokounmpo went 15th in the same draft.
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Various mid-to-late firsts in the 2010s that produced minimal value while the team tried to build around an aging Dirk.
The Brunson lesson: Letting Brunson walk to the Knicks for nothing is the biggest front-office mistake of the decade. He signed a 4-year, $104M deal and has become a 25+ PPG scorer in New York. Dallas could have matched but chose not to. Source: Spotrac contract details.
Sources:
- Basketball Reference — draft history and career stats
- NBA.com — draft records
- Spotrac — contract details