1997–98 Dallas Mavericks season

1997–98 Dallas Mavericks season
Head coach	Jim Cleamons Don Nelson
Arena	Reunion Arena
Results
Record	20–62 (.244)
Place	Division: 5th (Midwest) Conference: 10th (Western)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1997-98 NBA season was the Mavericks' 18th season in the NBA. The Mavericks continued to struggle as General Manager Don Nelson took over as head coach. After winning their first three games, the Mavericks went on a ten game losing streak in November. Along the way, forward A.C. Green broke the NBA's Iron Man record of most consecutive games played, breaking Randy Smith's record which was 906 consecutive games. Despite having an awful 9-38 record around the All-Star break, the Mavericks would win 8 of their 16 games in March, finishing fifth in the Midwest Division with a 20-62 record. Michael Finley led them in scoring averaging 21.5 points per game.

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	15	Kelvin Cato	C	United States	Iowa State
2	34	Bubba Wells	SF/SG	United States	Austin Peay State

Roster

Dallas Mavericks roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From C 11 Anstey, Chris 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 249 lb (113 kg) Australia C 44 Bradley, Shawn 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Brigham Young SF 23 Ceballos, Cedric 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Cal State Fullerton SG 24 Davis, Hubert 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 183 lb (83 kg) North Carolina SF 4 Finley, Michael 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Wisconsin PF 45 Green, A.C. 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oregon State PF 13 Muursepp, Martin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) PG 14 Pack, Robert  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Southern California PG 6 Reeves, Khalid 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 199 lb (90 kg) Arizona SG 21 Respert, Shawn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Michigan State C 50 Riley, Eric 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Michigan SG 20 Strickland, Erick 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Nebraska PF 40 Thomas, Kurt  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Texas Christian PF 52 Walker, Samaki  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Louisville SG 35 Wells, Bubba 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Austin Peay State	Head coach Don Nelson Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Roster Notes

• Center Shawn Bradley also holds American citizenship.

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–	36–5	26–15	22–2
x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6	31–10	25–16	18–6
x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17	26–15	19–22	14–10
x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21	24–17	17–24	14–10
Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42	13–28	7–34	9–15
Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43	14–27	5–36	4–20
Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51	9–32	2–39	3–21

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	1
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	1
4	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	6
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21
9	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	35
10	Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42
11	Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43
11	Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	43
13	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45
14	Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

See also

• 1997-98 NBA season