1994–95 Dallas Mavericks season

The 1994–95 Dallas Mavericks season was the 15th season for the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association.^[1] With the hopes of repeating history, the Mavericks brought back original head coach Dick Motta to restore a team that had compiled an awful 24–140 record over the last two years.^[2][3] The Mavericks received the second overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and selected point guard Jason Kidd from the University of California.^[4][5][6] Meanwhile, former Sixth Man Roy Tarpley returned after being suspended by the NBA three years ago.^[7][8][9]

Under Motta, and with the addition of Kidd to form a new trio along with second-year star Jamal Mashburn, and Jim Jackson,^[10][11] the Mavericks got off to a 12–8 start to the regular season. However, the team soon fell below .500 in winning percentage, posted an eight-game losing streak in January, and later on held an 18–28 record at the All-Star break.^[12] At mid-season, the team signed free agent George McCloud,^[13][14][15] and acquired Scott Brooks from the Houston Rockets.^[16] The Mavericks posted a six-game winning streak in March, and finished in fifth place in the Midwest Division with a 36–46 record, which was a 23-game improvement over the previous season, and twelve more wins then their previous two seasons combined.^[17] However, the team missed the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.

Kidd averaged 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game, as he was named the co-NBA Rookie of the Year along with Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons, and was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.^[18][19][20] In addition, Jackson averaged 25.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, but only played 51 games due to a season-ending ankle injury,^[21][22][23] while Mashburn provided the team with 24.1 points and 3.7 assists per game, and also led them with 113 three-point field goals, and Tarpley contributed 12.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game off the bench, but only played 55 games due to foot and knee injuries.^[24][25] Meanwhile, second-year forward Popeye Jones averaged 10.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, McCloud contributed 9.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in 42 games, second-year guard Lucious Harris contributed 9.5 points per game, Brooks provided with 7.9 points and 3.0 assists per game in 30 games, and defensive center Lorenzo Williams averaged 4.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.^[26]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, Kidd was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Green team,^[27][28] while rookie shooting guard, and first-round draft pick Tony Dumas participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.^[27][29] Despite stellar seasons, neither Jackson or Mashburn were selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game.^[30] Kidd also finished in 13th place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[31][32] while Jones finished tied in seventh place in Most Improved Player voting, with Jackson finishing tied in ninth place,^[33][32] and Motta finished in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[34][32]

The Mavericks finished 13th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 678,433 at the Reunion Arena during the regular season.^[26][35] Following the season, Doug Smith, who failed to live up to expectations as a top draft pick after four seasons with the Mavericks, was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Toronto Raptors expansion team.^[36][37][38]