Editing Dallas Mavericks (section)

===1982–1990: Playoff contention===
In [[1982–83 NBA season|1982–83]], the Mavericks were serious contenders for the first time. At the [[1983 NBA All-Star Game|All-Star break]], they were 25–24 and had won 12 of their last 15 games. They could not sustain that momentum and finished seven games behind the Denver Nuggets for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. But the Mavs' 38–44 record was a 10-game improvement from the previous season.

Mark Aguirre led the 1982–83 Mavericks with 24.4 points per game, finishing sixth in the NBA. [[Jay Vincent]] and [[Rolando Blackman]] contributed 18.7 and 17.7 points per game, respectively. Brad Davis was 10th in the NBA in assists with 7.2 per game and shot .845 from the free-throw line, sixth in the league. The Mavs drafted [[Derek Harper]] with the 11th pick of the [[1983 NBA draft]]. The 6&nbsp;ft 4 in guard would spend the next decade with the organization, averaging 15 points and 6.1 assists. The Mavericks' in [[1983–84 NBA season|1983–84]] posted a winning record for the first time in franchise history, finishing 43–39 and second in the Midwest Division. The Mavs also earned the first playoff berth in franchise history. Mark Aguirre was named the team's first NBA All-Star, as he finished with an average of 29.5 points per game—second in the league to Utah's [[Adrian Dantley]].

Dallas finished with the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs, and in their first playoff trip, they defeated the [[Seattle SuperSonics]] in five games. The fifth and deciding game of that series was played at [[Moody Coliseum]], as Reunion Arena, then the home court for the Mavericks was hosting a tennis tournament. The [[Magic Johnson]]-led [[1983–84 Los Angeles Lakers season|Los Angeles Lakers]], were next for the Mavs, and the young club fell short, losing four games to one. But a trade the Mavericks made in their inaugural season of 1980 paid off for them in 1984 because they owned [[Cleveland Cavaliers|Cleveland]]'s first-round pick, which ended up being the fourth pick overall. The Mavs used it to select forward-center [[Sam Perkins]], a former [[North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball|North Carolina Tar Heel]], with a surprising range from the three-point line who would average 14.4 points and 8.0 rebounds in six seasons with Dallas.

About this time, the [[Dallas Cowboys]], once one of the [[National Football League|NFL]]'s elite teams, began a slow decline that eventually saw them fall to 1–15 in [[1989 Dallas Cowboys season|1989]]. The Mavs were hitting their stride simultaneously and replaced the Cowboys as the Metroplex's most popular team. The [[1984–85 NBA season|1984–85]] team finished a game better than the previous year at 44–38. Mark Aguirre led the team in scoring again with 25.7 ppg, [[Sam Perkins]] made the All-Rookie team, and Rolando Blackman represented the Mavericks in the [[1985 NBA All-Star Game]]. The Mavs returned to the [[1985 NBA playoffs|playoffs]] in [[1984–85 NBA season|1985]] but were not as successful as they had been. They won Game 1 in double-overtime against the [[1984–85 Portland Trail Blazers season|Portland Trail Blazers]] in their first-round playoff series, but lost the next three games in a row, ending their season.

Dallas had the eighth pick in the [[1985 NBA draft]]—again due to a trade with the Cavaliers—and drafted German-born forward [[Detlef Schrempf]] out of [[Washington Huskies men's basketball|Washington]]. He would show flashes of brilliance in his three-plus seasons with the team, but it was not until he was traded to the [[Indiana Pacers]] that he displayed his full potential. The Mavericks also traded center [[Kurt Nimphius]] to the [[Los Angeles Clippers]] for center [[James Donaldson (basketball)|James Donaldson]], who would play for the Mavericks until halfway through the [[1991–92 NBA season|1991–92 season]]. This trade allowed the Mavericks to have a steady hand at the center position lacking throughout the franchise's first five years. In 1988, James Donaldson became the first Dallas Mavericks center in club history to be selected to play in the [[1988 NBA All-Star Game|NBA All-Star Game]].

[[Rolando Blackman]] represented the Mavericks in the [[1986 NBA All-Star Game]], hosted by Dallas at Reunion Arena. The 1985–86 Mavericks were second in scoring at 115.3 points per game, gaining their third-straight playoff appearance. They defeated [[1985–86 Utah Jazz season|Utah]] three games to one in the first round. In the conference semi-finals, they ran into the [[1985–86 Los Angeles Lakers season|Lakers]] again, and L.A. defeated Dallas in six games. But four of those games were decided by four points or fewer, and Dallas won half of those, leaving Mavericks fans room to hope that they could finally top the Lakers in the following season. The Mavs drafted [[Michigan Wolverines men's basketball|Michigan]] center [[Roy Tarpley]] with the seventh overall pick, who would become a very talented—but troubled—member of the roster.

The [[1986–87 NBA season|1986–87]] Mavericks team had their most successful regular season to date, going 55–27 and winning their first Midwest Division title. But despite the great expectations surrounding the team, they self-destructed in the playoffs. After hammering the [[1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics season|Seattle SuperSonics]] by 22 points in Game 1, the bottom dropped out for the Mavs, as they lost Games 2 and 3 in close fashion before succumbing to Game 4 in [[Seattle]]. Following the unexpected early playoff exit, Motta, who had been with the team since its inception, shockingly resigned as head coach. [[John MacLeod (basketball)|John MacLeod]], who had led the [[Phoenix Suns]] to nine playoff berths in 11 seasons, including an NBA Finals run in 1976, was hired as his replacement.

The [[1987–88 NBA season]] saw the Mavericks dip just a little bit in the regular season—finishing 53–29 and losing their Midwest Division title to the [[Denver Nuggets]]—but it was another successful year for the team. [[Mark Aguirre]] and [[James Donaldson (basketball)|James Donaldson]] both played in the [[1988 NBA All-Star Game]], the Mavericks rattled off a franchise-best 11-game winning streak, and [[Rolando Blackman]] scored his 10,000th career point. Aguirre led the team in scoring for the sixth consecutive year with 25.1 points per game, and [[Roy Tarpley]] won the [[NBA Sixth Man Award]] with averages of 13.5 points and 11.8 rebounds. The season saw the Mavs' deepest playoff run to date. They dispatched the [[Houston Rockets]] in four games and the Nuggets in six, leaving only the defending NBA Champion [[1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers season|Lakers]] between them and their first-ever trip to the [[1988 NBA Finals|NBA Finals]]. The Mavericks gave the Lakers everything they could handle. Still, in the end, the more experienced Lakers prevailed, defeating Dallas in seven games on the way to eventually winning their second consecutive NBA Championship.

Despite all the changes, the Mavs remained in contention. However, their season effectively ended when James Donaldson went down with a ruptured [[patella]] tendon on March 10, 1989, and missed the rest of the season. The Mavericks were left understaffed, demoralized, and disheartened as they finished with a 38–44 record. It was their first losing season since 1982–83—which was also the last time they missed the playoffs.

[[File:Lipofsky Mark Aguirre.jpg|right|thumb|180px|Mark Aguirre (pictured here with the Detroit Pistons) played with the Mavericks from 1981 to 1989.]]
The Mavericks returned to the [[1990 NBA playoffs|playoffs]] in [[1989–90 NBA season|1989–90]] with a 47–35 record, but it was another season of off-court chaos. On November 15, only six games into the Mavs' season, Tarpley was arrested for [[driving while intoxicated]] and resisting arrest. The team started 5–6, and MacLeod was fired, replaced by assistant coach [[Richie Adubato]]. The Mavs finished the season with four straight victories to surge into the playoffs but went down rather meekly to the [[1989–90 Portland Trail Blazers season|Portland Trail Blazers]] in three games. It would be the team's last winning season and playoff appearance until 2001.