Dallas Mavericks: Top 10 Point Guards in Team History

Being the floor general of an NBA team is a position that comes with great expectations, and great ridicule in the eyes of the fans and media. Think of the greats to play the point guard position: Bob Cousy, Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Gary Payton, Isiah Thomas. All players who led their team by being a great example, getting other guys open for clutch shots and hitting a few themselves.

For the Mavericks, point guard has been a position of great triumph, and great disappointment. Guys who were supposed to man the position for years to come and showed flashes of brilliance often didn't stay healthy or were packaged in a deal for another point guard to try in Don Nelson's system.

In Dallas, the position has really been defined over the past two decades by the rise, departure, and return of Jason Kidd. The triple-double machine started his career in Big D and will probably end his Hall of Fame campaign in the city that drafted him in 1994.

Aside from Kidd, the number of players to play the 1 are of a wide variety, and are defined more in Dallas by what they were unable to do rather than what they accomplished.  

Honorable Mention: Robert Pack

"Pac-Man" never reached his full potential during his three-and-a-half seasons in Dallas, although no one would deny his talent level was up with the best guards in the league. Pack came to Dallas midway through the 1996-1997 season, part of a blockbuster trade that netted the Mavs Pack and Shawn Bradley and the New Jersey Nets Sam Cassell and Jim Jackson. 

His time in Big D was marred by injuries, as he never played more than 29 games during his tenure. But the glimpses the Mavs did get of Pack proved that he was a very good player, averaging close to 10 points, 5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He even recorded 22 assists in one game during his time in Dallas. Those stats reminded teams that he was the athletic point guard that almost won the 1994 NBA dunk contest, and not the one that couldn't stay on the court.

Pack was traded away in 2000, part of a four team deal in which Dallas got nothing more than half a season from Howard Eisley. Pack was one of the first to try to replace Jason Kidd, and one of many that wouldn't be able to do so.

10. Nick Van Exel

The photo really says it all for Nick Van Exel. His story as a player is filled with big shots, team records, and was part of the original "Showtime" Los Angeles Laker team. But Van Exel's career, like many others to play the game, will be remembered for what he was unable to do with his immense talent. 

Van Exel came to the Mavs in the middle of the 2001-2002 season, part of a package that sent Avery Johnson and Raef LaFrentz to the Mavs and Tim Hardaway to the Nuggets. Mavs fans will probably remember him most for his unorthodox free-throw shooting style, as he stood around three feet back from the charity stripe and shot his free-throws from around 18 feet, instead of the normal 15. 

Van Exel carried the Mavs during the 2003 playoffs, averaging 19.5 PPG and rallying the team to within two wins of reaching the NBA Finals for the first time before the San Antonio Spurs beat the Mavs in the Western Conference Finals in six games. 

He hit a few big-game shots and was a fun player to watch, but ultimately not the answer at point guard. He was traded away in the 2003 offseason in a deal for Antawn Jamison. 

9. Avery Johnson

The "Little General" made this list because of just that: his leadership. His time as a Maverick player wasn't flashy, or even critical to the success of the team in the early part of the 2000s. But his time did open up a relationship with then head coach Don Nelson that led to Avery Johnson being part of his staff upon retirement, and eventually the replacement for Nelson and start of a very good three year stretch of coaching and results for the organization.

Many will remember Johnson as a San Antonio Spur, and therefore disregard his service and time with the Mavericks due to the bitter interstate rivalry. But Johnson was key to the Mavericks success during his time with the team, and that started with his role as a third-string point guard for parts of two seasons. He made an impact as a player that Nelson could not ignore. That impact led to his leadership and basketball knowledge being used in a way that gained the Mavericks admission to their first ever NBA Finals.  

8. Erick Strickland

Erick Strickland wasn't a well known player, or name, during his time in Dallas. He picked up the slack where Robert Pack wasn't able to, often filling in and taking over the position when Pack would go down with injury. An undrafted free agent from Nebraska, Strickland signed with the Mavs during 1996-1997 and spent most of four seasons with the team who gave him a chance out of college.

His best season for the Mavericks came right before the turn of the century in the 1999-2000 season. He started 67 games and averaged 12.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, shot 39.2 percent from three point range and 1.5 steals per game.

Known more as a scoring guard than distributor, his skill set allowed the Mavs to play him and up-and-coming point guard Steve Nash at the same time. Don Nelson felt comfortable enough with Nash running the point and traded Strickland away after the end of the 2000 season.

7. Jose Juan Barea

The little guy from Puerto Rico has gone from D-League stud to NBA benchwarmer to starting on an NBA championship team. Rick Carlisle made the smooth move to start Barea against the mighty Miami Heat at the start of Game 4, and he responded by torching the interior of the Heat defense the same way he did after being pummeled by Andrew Bynum in one of the league's dirtiest plays of the year in the Western Conference second round matchup against the Lakers.

Barea has had a long journey from Northeastern University to being undrafted in the NBA to being a fan favorite in Dallas. He continued to work hard and found a spot in the NBA Developmental League before being noticed by Avery Johnson and the Mavericks during their 67-win, first round playoff exit 2006-2007 season.

Generously listed at 6'0", Barea's quickness and willingness to take the ball in the paint has made him one of the higher coveted free agents as soon as the lockout ends.

Under the tutelage of Jason Kidd, Rick Carlisle, and player development coach Brad Davis—all good guards during their time in the NBA, Barea has developed from spot starter and instant offense off the bench to a very good game manager.

Number 7 on this list is a hold spot for Barea. If he resigns with the Mavericks, JJ will surely rise up the ranks of point guards to ever wear the uniform. His shooting percentage and assist totals have risen as his playing time has increased, and he has become a very valuable commodity in the recipe for Dallas' success.  

6. Devin Harris

Devin Harris was supposed to be the one to hoist the trophy when the Mavs returned home with an NBA Finals victory. When he was traded to New Jersey for Jason Kidd in that eight player trade that brought Kidd back to Dallas, Mark Cuban was lauded as a complete moron. Donnie Nelson was on the hot seat. When the Mavs lost to the New Orleans Hornets in the first round in 2008, I thought we'd never hear the end of the ridicule.

But this is about Harris' time in Dallas, and his numbers and play were very good for a very good Mavs team that just couldn't get over the hump. He averaged 14.8 points, 5.8 assists, and 1.4 steals a game during the 67-win season, his last full one for the Mavs.

Harris had gone down as a part of one of the worst trades in franchise history, until Kidd was able to help make that trade look like a win, after all. Mavs fans will still thank and miss Harris from time to time, as they should, and he will go on to be a very good point guard for the duration of his career in the NBA.

5. Jason Terry

(Note: Terry has played both point guard and shooting guard for the Mavericks, but I'm not one to subject him to only one list, because his contributions to the team are in more than one form).

If you've been in Dallas for a game since 2004, you've seen the Jet take flight on the runway that is American Airlines Center. Jason Eugene Terry, or Jet, as he's affectionately known around Dallas, is one of the players that helped turn the Mavericks from perennial playoff bust to NBA champion. Terry is more of a combo-guard than true point, but during his time under Don Nelson and Avery Johnson, Terry played point guard, mentored young Devin Harris and started down the path to being one of the most popular Mavs in history.

He spent those first three years in Dallas fluctuating between point guard and shooting guard, handling the ball more than anyone on the team, running the two-man game with Dirk Nowitzki and bridging the gap between the rookie Devin Harris and the Devin Harris that started in the 2006 NBA Finals.

Terry has made no bones about his intentions to see his name and number 31 hang from the rafters of the AAC when his playing days are over. It's been a love/hate relationship for Mavs fans, but his contributions as a point guard to this team shouldn't be ignored, even if the Mavs weren't able to reach the land of milk and honey under his watch at point. 

4. Brad Davis

Brad Davis spent 12 years as a point guard for the Mavs. He started with the franchise when they were an expansion team in 1980, and ended his career with the team following the 1992 season. He is one of only two players to ever have their jersey number retired by the Mavs, along with Rolando Blackman. 

His production at the position was greatest during the first five years of the franchise, when they struggled to win under coach Dick Motta with inferior talent and players that had been assembled largely as the leftovers of other teams. But Davis' greatest contribution to the team came in the form of his loyalty and willingness to contribute even with Derek Harper thrusted into the starting role in 1986, which led to a decrease in playing time and production from Davis.

He helped the team reach the playoffs five different times in his 12 seasons in Big D and was part of the 1988 team that lost to the Lakers in seven games in the Western Conference Finals. 

But his contributions as a backup point guard and team leader are far more reaching than his stats could ever tell, which aren't so bad in their own right. He was a 10-point, 7-assist man for the first six years in Dallas, and then saw his numbers decrease when he came off the bench. Think J.J. Barea with more leadership. Davis stuck through and retired from the game with the Mavs, and is now a radio commentator and player development coach for the team that he showed loyalty to through the years.  

3. Derek Harper

Derek Harper was drafted by the Mavs in 1983 with the 11th overall pick in the first round. He blossomed into one of the core components of a very good Mavericks team in the 1980s, one that is often associated with quick success as they had become a franchise earlier in the decade.

Harper led the fast break on Mavericks teams that featured Rolando Blackman, Mark Aguirre, Sam Perkins, Roy Tarpley, Detlef Schrempf and Brad Davis. Highlights of the 1988 NBA playoffs are featured with those guys looking pretty gliding up and down the court while dunking and passing behind their backs for layups.

Harper put up great numbers during his ten full seasons and part of one more with the team. After he took over for Brad Davis as the starting point guard at the beginning of the 1986 season, he never put up less than 16 points and 5 assists in a full campaign with Dallas.

He was the ringleader for a team that was one win away from the NBA Finals in 1988, and led the team until Jason Kidd was drafted in 1994, and then finished his NBA career elsewhere. 

2. Steve Nash

Steve Nash, the two-time MVP and one of the most consistent point guards in league history, began his rise to popularity and respect league-wide after an offseason trade sent him to Dallas in 1998. He joined the team the same season as Dirk Nowitzki, and the two began to turn the franchise around as their ascension paralleled their growing friendship.

It seemed like Nash got better each time he put on the Maverick uniform. He was a part of the first four of the current 11 50-win seasons, and was on the 2003 team that Steve Kerr unleashed his three-point barrage against to propel the Spurs to the NBA Finals.

He, Dirk, and Michael Finley made up the "Nasty Nash," "Dirty Dirk," and "Filthy Fin" trio that was popular during All-Star game voting and for t-shirt sales in Dallas. Nash was becoming one of the fixtures of a team that made the playoffs four years in a row.

Nash was up for free agency in the summer of 2004 when Mark Cuban apparently didn't want to give him a long term deal and tie up money that he was going to need for Nowitzki and other players.  

His stats in Dallas don't compare to his stats after his departure to Phoenix starting in 2004. The MVP seasons he put together made Cuban look cheap following his six seasons of solid play under Don Nelson. But Nash made his mark in Dallas, with his seasons of excellence at the point guard position, fancy passes on fast breaks, and dang near impossible shots in traffic.

Nash is probably one of the top 10 point guards in NBA history, when it is all said and done. His record of consistency and brilliance at the position only compares to one other player in Mavericks history, one who happens to be on that same top 10 all-time list—and at the top of this ranking.  

1. Jason Kidd

The power of that trophy in the picture above catapults Kidd into the number 1 spot. The first-ballot Hall of Famer started his career in Dallas, and hopefully he will finish it there. He was drafted by the team with 2nd overall pick of the 1994 draft, and spent two full seasons as the floor general and face of the franchise before being traded for a package that included Michael Finley. 

Kidd was great even in his first tenure with the team, putting up averages of 16.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 9.7 assists in just his second full NBA season. This would just be the start of his dominance in fantasy basketball leagues and triple-double enthusiast meetings across the world.

After being traded in 1996, Kidd went on to continue to produce great numbers and be a part of some great teams in Phoenix and New Jersey. He twice got foiled in the NBA finals with the Nets, once by the Lakers and once by the San Antonio Spurs.

Kidd's return to Dallas was marred at the time by Dallas' inability to get over giving up Devin Harris in the deal to get Kidd back. Many claimed it would ruin the team's chance to get over the hump and back to the NBA Finals, and up until this season, that claim was valid.

The Kidd-led Mavs lost in 2008 to the New Orleans Hornets, 2009 to the Denver Nuggets, and 2010 to the Spurs, before climbing the NBA mountain and reigning victorious in 2011 over the Miami Heat.

Kidd will go down as one of the top five point guards in NBA history. His 107 triple-doubles rank behind only Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson for the most in regular season history. Dallas has been graced with his basketball IQ not once, but twice, and it is a treat to watch him play the game, even if he refuses to shoot wide-open layups and passes up shots to give the ball to less-deserving shooters.

If you are a fan of basketball, you have to love the way Kidd plays the game, if nothing less than for the tenacity and fire he brings each night as a 37-year-old man who has averaged 37 minutes per game in his career. Dallas doesn't win the Finals without him, and he doesn't win the Finals without Dallas. Sounds like the cherry on top for the Hall of Fame point guard, and best one to don a Maverick uniform.