Expansion Boyz

On this date in 1980 the NBA added new franchise based out of Dallas, TX dubbed the Mavericks. Since their inception the Mavs have won one NBA championships and enjoyed multiple 50+ win seasons and become one of the best franchises in the league. Lets take a look back at some of the team’s best footwear moments over the last 39 years!

Luka Doncic: Nike PG2.5 Custom (2018)

Young blood got game, mad game. Luka Doncic single handedly brought hope back to Dallas with his electrifying style of play. I don’t frequently go off on personal tangents with ya’ll but lemme tell you – anyone that slept on Luka was a straight fool. Look at the boy’s pedigree in Europe, like he wasn’t going to slay in the league? Crazy. Doncic has brought this franchise new found excitement with each step-back jumper. Early in the 2018 Season the Slovenian standout rocked a dummy pair of Gohan PG2.5 customs by MelonKicks in proper modern fashion. Look for Luka to lead the Mavs for the next 10+ years.

Steve Nash: Nike Air Jet Flight (2001)

We’ll never know what could’ve been if Mark Cuban forked over the money to re-sign Steve Nash, but in retrospect Cuban for sure fuched up. The Nash x Dirk connection was short lived and potent as players grew together on the court and off. They were best friends, why do you trade your star players best friend!! Ugh, Steve’s shooting, decision making and passing complimented the Mavericks’s style of play extremely well, and Steve was about to enter his MVP years.

Michael Finley: Air Jordan 16 PE (2001)

Everyone, pour out one drink for the Mavericks’s one-time-use silver sheen jerseys! Opening night of the 2001 NBA season saw the Mavs take on the Lakers with their brand new alternative uniforms dressed in the brightest silver ever seen on an NBA court. Armed with a jersey straight out of a amateur hoops league Michael Finley paired the look with clean pair of 2001 Air Jordan 11 “Cool Greys” for one of the most slept on moments in footwear history. I mean, just look at this pic and tell me there’s another image more “early 2000s” than these…

Jason Kidd: Nike Zoom Flight 95; (1996)

Not many players lace up twice for one franchise but Jason Kidd rocked with the Mavs on two separate occasions. On his first go around Kidd lead a point guard revolution as one of the best young backcourt talents in the NBA with a fresh Nike contract in toe. The co-NBA Rookie of the year instantly mesmerized fans (and opponents) with flashy passes and witty play (homeboy didn’t have a jumper yet) as he lead a resurgent Dallas team into relevancy. Youngings might not know this, but J-Kidd actually had one of the best signature lines of the late ’90s as he spearheaded various “Zoom” models. His best moment came during the 1996 NBA All-Star game; Kidd earned his first starting bid and rocked one of the cleanest Nikes around, the Zoom Flight 95.

Dirk Nowitzki: Nike Hyperdunk 2010 PE (2010)

Name a better scoring power forward, I’ll wait… the 7 footer out of Germany gave us 20 plus years of one-legged jumper glory to the tune of 31,560 career points; and it’s safe to say that his mark on the game was profound.

In 2011 Dirk & co. shocked the basketball world by upsetting “The Heatles” to win the franchise’s lone NBA Championship in dramatic fashion. On-foot were a super solid pair of white/navy/college blue 2010 Nike Hyperdunk PEs. Championship friggin’ gold! For years Dirk held down the Hyperdunk line with an annual commitment to the model – some PEs even released to the public. They might not be the flashiest kicks, but they’re the most important pair in the franchise’s history.