The team's name comes from the 1957-62 TV western Maverick. James Garner, who played the title character in the show, was a member of the original ownership group.

In December 1980, when the Mavs acquired journeyman 6 ft 3 in guard Brad Davis, who played for the Anchorage Northern Knights of the Continental Basketball Association, there was no reason to believe he would be any better than the expansion-level talent the Mavs already had. But Davis flourished in Dallas and went on to spend the next twelve years with the team. When he retired in April 1992, and his #15 jersey was raised to the rafters of Reunion Arena, he was the last-remaining Maverick from the team's inaugural season.

On November 13, 2014, the Mavericks recorded their largest victory ever with a 123-70 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. The 53-point margin for Dallas surpassed its 50-point win over the New York Knicks in January 2010.

On February 6, 2019, at the age of 19, Luka Dončić recorded his third triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 99-93 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Dončić has four of the five triple-doubles recorded by teenagers in NBA history.

In the 2006-07 season, Dirk Nowitzki shot a career-best 50.2% from the field, recorded averages of 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, and led the Mavericks to a franchise-high 67 wins and the first Western Conference seed in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. He was named the regular-season MVP, beating out former Maverick and back-to-back NBA MVP Steve Nash with more than 100 votes.

In just his second season, point guard Jason Kidd set a Mavericks record with 783 assists. He would go on to lead the league in assists five times (1999-2001, 2003-04).

In Game 1 of the 2011 Western Conference Finals, Dirk Nowitzki scored 48 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder and set an NBA record of 24 consecutive free throws made in a game as well as a record for most free throws in a game without a miss.

In 2006-07, the Mavs notched multiple double figure winning streaks, including a 17-game streak from January 27 to March 11 that helped them finish the season with a 67-15 record.

Dick Motta, who had guided the Washington Bullets to the NBA Championship in 1977-78, was hired as the team's first head coach. He had a well-earned reputation of being a stern disciplinarian, but was also a great teacher of the game.

Going into the 2011 NBA Finals, the Miami Heat were heavy favorites with their newly acquired superstars LeBron James and Chris Bosh along with returning superstar Dwyane Wade, but the Mavericks defeated them in six games, avenging a 2006 NBA Finals loss and claiming Dallas' first NBA championship.