The Dallas Mavericks became a franchise in 1980. There was measured improvement over three seasons, but the records were not pretty. They were slowing building through the draft. It was the only way back then. Free agency did not begin until 1988.
The Mavs finally broke through in year four and reached the playoffs for the first time. Mark Aguirre was Dallas’ leading scorer that season by averaging 29.5 points per game. Brad Davis was the starting point guard. He put up 11.1 points and 6.9 assists per game. Rolando Blackman scored 22.