The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.

According to a 2012 Forbes Magazine report, they are the fourth-most valuable basketball franchise in the United States, valued at approximately $497 million; the franchise is surpassed in value only by the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Chicago Bulls.

Since their inaugural 1980–81 season, the Mavericks have won three division titles (1987, 2007, 2010), two conference championships (2006, 2011), and one NBA Championship (2011).

In 1979, businessman Don Carter and partner Norm Sonju requested the right to bring an NBA franchise to Dallas, Texas. The last professional basketball team in Dallas had been the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association, which moved to San Antonio in 1973 to become the San Antonio Spurs.

Dallas ( /ˈdæləs/) is the third-largest city in the state of Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Divided between Collin, Dallas, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties, the city had a population of 1,197,816 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau.

The city is the largest economic center of the 12-county Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area (the DFW MSA) that according to the March 2010 U.S. Census Bureau release, had a population of 6,371,773. The metroplex economy is the sixth largest in the United States, with a 2010 gross metropolitan product of $374 billion.

Dallas was founded in 1841 and was formally incorporated as a city in February 1856. The city's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, computer technology, energy, healthcare and medical research, transportation and logistics. The city is home to the third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the nation. Located in North Texas and a major city in the American South, Dallas is the main core of the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States that lacks any navigable link to the sea.

LeBron Raymone James (/ləˈbrɒn/; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a sophomore at St. Vincent – St. Mary High School. He was selected with the number one pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Listed as a small forward, James has set numerous youngest player records since joining the league. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003–04, was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2009, 2010, and 2012 and has been both an All-NBA selection and an All-Star every season since 2005. In 2010, a much-publicized free agency process ended with James signing with the Miami Heat.

James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to consecutive playoff appearances from 2006 through 2010. In 2007, the Cavaliers advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, but lost to the San Antonio Spurs. In 2011, James and the Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals but lost to the Dallas Mavericks. James has been a member of the USA national team, winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and gold at the 2008 Olympics.

Dirk Werner Nowitzki (German pronunciation: [ˈdɪʁk ˈvɛʁnɐ noˈvɪtski]) (born June 19, 1978) is a German professional basketball player who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). An alumnus of Röntgen Gymnasium and DJK Würzburg basketball club, Nowitzki was drafted ninth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1998 NBA Draft, and was immediately traded to the Mavericks, where he has played ever since. Standing 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), Nowitzki plays the power forward position but also has the athleticism and shooting ability to play the other frontcourt positions, center and small forward.

Nowitzki has led the Mavericks to 12 consecutive NBA Playoffs (2000–01–2011–12), including an NBA Finals appearance in 2006 and the franchise's first championship in 2011, making him one of only 5 players in NBA history to win a championship while being the only NBA All-Star on the team. He is an 11-time All-Star and 12-time member of the All-NBA Teams, and the first European-born player in NBA history to receive the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. He is the first Maverick ever to be voted into an All-NBA Team and also holds several all-time Mavericks franchise records. Only Nowitzki and three other players have ever averaged more than 25 points and 10 rebounds in the NBA playoffs, and only Nowitzki and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have managed 4 consecutive 30-point, 15-rebound games in the playoffs. Additionally, Nowitzki is the only player in NBA history to get 100 blocks and 150 3-pointers in a single season.

Vincent Lamar "Vince" Carter (born January 26, 1977) is an American professional basketball player with the Dallas Mavericks. He is a shooting guard who can also play small forward.

A high school McDonald's All-American, Carter played three years at the University of North Carolina, where he twice reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament before being selected as the fifth overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, who traded him to the Toronto Raptors. He won the 1999 NBA Rookie of the Year Award and won the Slam Dunk Contest at the 2000 NBA All-Star Game the following season. That summer, he represented the United States in the Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal.

He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his leaping ability and slam dunks, earning him nicknames such as "Vinsanity," "Air Canada," and "Half-Man, Half-Amazing."

He led the Raptors to their first three playoff appearances. In 2004, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets, and he helped lead them to three playoff berths. In July 2009, Carter was traded to the Orlando Magic, helping them to advance to the Eastern Conference finals before being traded to the Phoenix Suns in December, 2010.