The 1981–82 Dallas Mavericks season was the second season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rookie Jay Vincent led the team in scoring with 21.4 points per game and earned NBA All-Rookie Team honors. The Mavericks improved to 28–54, getting out of the Midwest Division cellar as they finished above the Utah Jazz.
Draft picks
The 1981 NBA draft brought three players who would become vital parts of the team. The Mavs selected 6'6" forward Mark Aguirre with the first pick, 6'6" guard Rolando Blackman 9th, and 6'7" forward Jay Vincent 24th. By the end of his seven-year Mavs career, Aguirre would average 24.6 points per game. Blackman contributed 19.2 points over his 11-year career in Dallas.
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 1 Mark Aguirre SF DePaul 1 9 Rolando Blackman SG Kansas State 2 24 Jay Vincent SF Michigan State 2 43 Elston Turner SG/SF Mississippi 3 47 Art Housey Kansas 4 70 Eddie Moss Syracuse 5 93 Pete Budko North Carolina
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
Game log Regular season
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 6 | 9:00p.m. CST | @Los Angeles | L 111–121 | Aguirre (23) | LaGarde (11) | Davis (7) | The Forum9,870 | 1–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 13 | 7:35p.m. CST | Los Angeles | L 110–125 | Vincent (20) | Vincent (13) | Davis (9) | Reunion Arena14,266 | 1–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 14 | 8:35p.m. CST | @ Denver | L 133–139 | Aguirre (31) | LaGarde (8) | Davis (15) | McNichols Sports Arena8,533 | 1–13
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 18 | 7:35p.m. CST | Denver | W 109–105 | Aguirre (26) | Turner (8) | Davis (13) | Reunion Arena7,620 | 3–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 24 | 6:30p.m. CST | @ Boston | L 92–109 | Vincent (27) | LaGarde (9) | Davis,Lloyd,Spanarkel,Turner (4) | Boston Garden15,320 | 5–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 28 | 7:35p.m. CST | Denver | L 117–124 | Vincent (33) | Cooper,Nimphius,Vincent (8) | Bristow,Davis (7) | Reunion Arena9,580 | 6–22
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 36 | 8:35p.m. CST | @ Denver | L 113–128 | Vincent (22) | Bristow,Cooper (8) | Bristow (7) | McNichols Sports Arena7,990 | 9–27
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 57 | 7:35p.m. CST | Boston | L 97–101 | Vincent (31) | Bristow,Cooper (8) | Bristow (12) | Reunion Arena17,134 | 19–38 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 64 | 9:00p.m. CST | @ Los Angeles | L 116–138 | Blackman (25) | Vincent (7) | Davis (6) | The Forum13,000 | 22–42 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 66 | 7:35p.m. CST | Los Angeles | L 106–112 | Vincent (22) | Vincent (13) | Cooper (5) | Reunion Arena17,134 | 22–44 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 68 | 9:30p.m. CST | @ Los Angeles | W 118–116 | Aguirre (23) | Vincent (10) | Spanarkel (7) | The Forum13,516 | 23–45 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 73 | 7:35p.m. CST | Denver | L 119–120 | Vincent (31) | Cooper (10) | Bristow (14) | Reunion Arena7,322 | 24–49
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 82 | 8:35p.m. CST | @ Denver | L 124–130 | Vincent (26) | Aguirre,Vincent (9) | Bristow (10) | McNichols Sports Arena17,009 | 28–54
Player statistics
Ragular season PlayerPG82 82 2,614 226 509 73 6 993 31.9 2.8 6.2 .9 .1 12.1SF82 54 2,035 339 448 65 6 573 24.8 4.1 5.5 .8 .1 7.0SG82 16 1,979 254 105 46 30 1,091 24.1 3.1 1.3 .6 .4 13.3SG82 1 1,755 210 206 86 9 827 21.4 2.6 2.5 1.0 .1 10.1PF 81 62 2,626 565 176 89 22 1,732 32.4 7.0 2.2 1.1 .3 21.4SF 80 62 1,996 301 189 75 2 661 25.0 3.8 2.4 .9 .0 8.3C 76 38 1,818 550 115 37 106 682 23.9 7.2 1.5 .5 1.4 9.0PF 74 17 1,047 163 67 15 7 287 14.1 2.2 .9 .2 .1 3.9C 63 27 1,085 295 61 17 82 337 17.2 4.7 1.0 .3 1.3 5.3SF 51 20 1,468 249 164 37 22 955 28.8 4.9 3.2 .7 .4 18.7C 47 28 909 210 49 17 17 312 19.3 4.5 1.0 .4 .4 6.6PF 35 0 248 61 14 4 3 81 7.1 1.7 .4 .1 .1 2.3SG 13 3 150 18 14 5 1 44 11.5 1.4 1.1 .4 .1 3.4
Awards and records Awards Jay Vincent, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
Transactions Free agents
Additions Player Signed Former team Kurt Nimphius September 2, 1981 Denver Nuggets
Subtractions Player Left New team Abdul Jeelani October 5, 1981 Chad Kinch October 5, 1981 Ollie Mack December 22, 1981
See also 1981–82 NBA season
References