Apr 18, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd reacts toward an official during the fourth quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Mavericks on wrong side of NBA history after missing playoffs

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Apr 19, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Dallas Mavericks were blown out by the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night in the NBA Play-In Tournament, knocking them out of playoff contention. It has been a nightmare situation for the Mavericks this season, as they went from the NBA Finals last June to the draft lottery this year.

And Dallas' issues were mostly self-inflicted from trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis and Max Christie. It was a horrible trade at the moment, and it proved to be worse as the season progressed, Davis and Kyrie Irving got hurt, and the front office continued to embarrass themselves.

But because the Mavericks missed the playoffs, they ended up on the wrong side of NBA history, becoming one of 11 teams to miss the playoffs the season after making the NBA Finals, joining the 1961-62 St. Louis Hawks, the 1964-65 San Francisco Warriors, the 1969-70 Boston Celtics, the 1974-75 Milwaukee Bucks, the 1976-77 Phoenix Suns, the 1998-99 Chicago Bulls, the 2004-05 Los Angeles Lakers, the 2014-15 Miami Heat, the 2018-19 Cleveland Cavaliers, and the 2019-20 Golden State Warriors.

Six of those teams lost their star player entering the season (Celtics - Bill Russell, Bucks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bulls - Michael Jordan, Lakers - Shaquille O'Neal, Heat - LeBron James, Cavaliers - LeBron James) and three dealt with significant injuries to key players (Hawks - Lenny Wilkens and Clyde Lovellette, Suns - Gar Heard and Curtis Perry, Warriors - Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson).

The Mavericks joined the '64-'65 Warriors as the only teams to trade their star players midseason after making the NBA Finals and then missed the playoffs, as the Warriors did with Wilt Chamberlain. That is not the side of history you want to be on.

Nico Harrison traded Doncic thinking he couldn't win a championship with him, but he couldn't make the playoffs without Doncic. Hopefully, he's not running the franchise much longer.

This article first appeared on Dallas Mavericks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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