1993–94 Dallas Mavericks season

The 1993–94 Dallas Mavericks season was the 14th season for the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association.^[1] After a dreadful season where they only won just eleven games, the Mavericks received the fourth overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, and selected small forward Jamal Mashburn from the University of Kentucky,^[2][3][4] acquired rookie power forward Popeye Jones out of Murray State University from the Houston Rockets, who drafted him with the 41st overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft, and started the regular season with new head coach Quinn Buckner.^[5]

Under Buckner, and despite the addition of Mashburn, and with second-year star Jim Jackson playing in his first full season, the Mavericks' misery continued as they lost 23 of their first 24 games, including a 20-game losing streak between November and December, which tied the infamous 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers; the record was later on broken by the 1995–96 Vancouver Grizzlies and the 1997–98 Denver Nuggets, where both teams lost 23 consecutive games, which was then later broken by the 2010–11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013–14 Philadelphia 76ers, who lost 26 consecutive games.^[6][7] The Mavericks then suffered a 16-game losing streak (which led to a 2–39 record), on their way to a miserable 3–40 record at the end of January.^[8]

At mid-season, the team traded Derek Harper to the New York Knicks in exchange for Tony Campbell to replace Knicks point guard Doc Rivers, who played only 19 games due to a knee injury and missed the remainder of the season,^[9][10][11] and signed free agent Lorenzo Williams.^[12] The Mavericks held a 6–42 record at the All-Star break,^[13] and continued to struggle posting a 17-game losing streak between March and April, but posted a 5–8 record in April. The team won their final two games of the season, finishing in last place in the Midwest Division with a miserable 13–69 record, narrowly missing out on back-to-back 70-loss seasons.^[8]

Jackson averaged 19.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, while Mashburn averaged 19.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and second-year center Sean Rooks provided the team with 11.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, but only played just 47 games due to injury. In addition, Campbell contributed 9.7 points per game in 41 games after the trade, while Doug Smith provided with 8.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, and Tim Legler contributed 8.3 points per game. Meanwhile, Fat Lever averaged 6.9 points and 2.0 steals per game, Jones averaged 5.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, rookie shooting guard, and second-round draft pick Lucious Harris contributed 5.4 points per game, and Williams provided with 3.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in 34 games.^[14]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mashburn and Jones were both selected for the inaugural NBA Rookie Game, as members of the Sensations team.^[15][16] Mashburn also finished in third place in Rookie of the Year voting.^[17][18] The Mavericks finished 25th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 526,414 at the Reunion Arena during the regular season, which was the third-lowest in the league.^[14][19]

Following the season, Buckner was fired as head coach after only one season with the Mavericks,^[20] while Rooks was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves,^[21][22] Campbell signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Cavaliers,^[23][24] Legler was released to free agency, and Lever and Randy White both retired.