AN INSPIRATIONAL STORY:
Last season, 91 players that played in the NBA went undrafted, accounting for 19% of the league. Mavericks free agent signee Wesley Matthews was the highest scoring of those players and is on track to join John Starks, Ben Wallace and Brad Miller as the only undrafted players ever to become All-Stars.
Highest Scoring Undrafted Players
2014-15 Season
PPG
Wesley Matthews, POR< 15.9
Robert Covington, PHI 13.5
Langston Galloway, NY 11.8
<signed with DAL as free agent
A DECORATED ADDITION:
Deron Williams is a three-time NBA All-Star that signed with the Mavericks as a free agent this offseason. In team history, 16 players have made at least three All-Star games and played for the Mavericks at any point in their careers (led by Dirk Nowitzki with 13). Deron Williams will be the 17th player, and 5th point guard, to have made at least three All-Star games and play for the Mavericks.
Point Guards With Most Career All-Star Appearances
To Play For Mavericks
All-Star App.
Jason Kidd 10
Steve Nash 8
Tim Hardaway 5
Rajon Rondo 4
Deron Williams 3
A MAVERICK IN VEGAS:
Chandler Parsons was one of 34 NBA players invited to participate in Team USA mini-camp in August in hopes of representing the United States at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Parsons was the only Mavericks player invited. Since Team USA began using NBA players in 1992, there have been four Mavericks on Team USA’s roster at the time of major International competition.
Mavericks in Major FIBA Competition
Since 1992
Year Result
Tyson Chandler 2010 World Championships Gold Medal
Michael Finley 2002 World Championships 6th place
Jason Kidd 2008 Olympics Gold medal
Raef LaFrentz 2002 World Championships 6th place
(MORE: Kobe Bryant in the Mix for 2016 Rio Olympic Team)
BACK TO BIG D:
Samuel Dalembert signed with the Mavericks this offseason after playing for Dallas in the 2013-14 season. He played for the Knicks last season. Dalembert becomes the third player on the current roster who has left the Mavericks, and later returned for a second stint.
Mavericks With 2 Stints On Team
Current Roster
First Stint Second Stint
Samuel Dalembert 2013-14 2015-present
JJ Barea 2006-11 2014-present
Devin Harris 2004-08 2013-present
BIG IMPACT FROM A SHORTER PLAYER:
JJ Barea was one of 21 players in the NBA last season at 6-feet or shorter. Barea’s Player Efficiency Rating (PER) was sixth among these players.
Highest PER Among Players 6-feet and Shorter
2014-15 Season
PER
Chris Paul 26.0
Isaiah Thomas 20.6
Kyle Lowry 19.3
Ty Lawson 18.5
Darren Collison 17.5
JJ Barea 15.1
NEW MAN IN THE MIDDLE:
The Mavericks traded for Zaza Pachulia this offseason to help fill the void left by Tyson Chandler. Pachulia quietly had one of the best seasons of his career and does many of the things that Chandler did. Pachulia is an upgrade in passing and facilitation, while still providing terrific offensive rebounding and a dynamic defensive impact.
Zaza Pachulia
2014-15 Season
NBA Rank Among Centers
Offensive Rebound Pct 13.1% 6th
Assist Pct 16.2% 5th
Defensive Rating 100.4 11th
Steals Pct 2.4% 2nd
FINDING HIS GROOVE:
Charlie Villanueva has been in the NBA for 10 years, and last season his efficiency exploded. Villanueva re-signed with Dallas this offseason after a phenomenal 2014-15 season.
Charlie Villanueva
2014-15 Season
Rank Among Returning Mavs
Average Shot Distance 17.8 feet Furthest
Effective FG Pct on Spot-ups 61.8% 1st
PER 17.4 2nd
3-PT FG Pct 37.6% 3rd
TIES TO VIRGINIA:
Justin Anderson from the University of Virginia was the team’s first-round selection (21st overall pick). He hopes to join a select list of players that attended Virginia who went on to win an NBA title. His coach, Rick Carlisle, knows something about that. He’s one of three players from Virginia to win the NBA title as a player.
Players Attending Virginia To Win NBA Title
Team
Rick Carlisle 1986 Celtics
Marc Iavaroni 1983 76ers
Wally Walker 1977 Blazers, 1979 Sonics
GOING GLOBAL:
With the 52nd pick in the 2015 draft, the Mavericks selected Satnam Singh. The 7-foot-2, 19-year-old became the first Indian-born player ever selected in the NBA draft. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban declared, “There’s a billion new Mavs fans out there right now,” referring to the Indian market.
According to India Online, there are 1.28 billion people in India, making it the second-most populous country in the world (China). Since taking over the Mavericks, Cuban has not been shy about searching for talent all over the globe, selecting 9 foreign-born players from nine different countries in the NBA draft.
Mavericks Foreign-Born Draft Picks
Since Mark Cuban Became Owner
Country Overall Pick
2015 Satnam Singh India 52nd
2013 Kelly Olynyk Canada 13th
2011 Targuy Ngombo Congo 57th
2010 Solomon Alabi Nigeria 50th
2007 Renaldas Seibutus Lithuania 50th
2007 Milovan Rakovic Serbia 60th
2004 Vassilis Spanoulis Greece 50th
2003 Xue Yuyang China 57th
2002 Mladen Sekularac Montenegro 54th
Peter Newmann is an analyst and writer who spent 10 years at ESPN, 8 as the NBA senior researcher working 24/7 on the league. He wrote game notes for crews, articles for ESPN.com, analysis for studio shows, and regularly assisted reporters and writers. Follow him on Twitter, and check out his Web site, www.peternewmann.com.