The 1992–93 NBA season was the Mavericks' thirteenth season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. In the

1992 NBA draft The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks (Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner) were conside ...

, the Mavericks selected Jim Jackson out of

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

with the fourth overall pick. However, Jackson held out most of his rookie season due to a contract dispute, and refused to play for the Mavericks. The dismantling of the 1980s Mavericks continued as

Fat Lever Lafayette "Fat" Lever (; born August 18, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. He later served as the director of player development for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA as we ...

missed the entire season with a knee injury. After a 1–3 start to the season, the Mavericks went on a 12-game losing streak between November and December, posted a 15-game losing streak between December and January, lost eight consecutive games between January and February, and then suffered a dreadful 19-game losing streak between February and March which left them with the worst record in NBA history as they stood 4–57 through 61 games. Head coach

Richie Adubato Richard Adam Adubato''The Sporting News: 1992-93 Official NBA Register''. St. Louis, Missouri: The Sporting News Publishing Co. 1992. (born November 23, 1937) is a former basketball coach in the National Basketball Association. He has served a ...

was fired after a 2–27 start, and was replaced with assistant

Gar Heard Garfield Heard (born May 3, 1948) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. He played collegiately at the University of Oklahoma and was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the third round of the 1970 NBA draft. He had a ...

. The team held a 4–45 record at the All-Star break during their 19-game losing streak. However, Jackson finally signed with the Mavericks in early March, and played in the final 28 games of the season, averaging 16.3 points, 4.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game, although he was not selected to an

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for player ...

at season's end. In the final 21 games, Jackson helped the team to seven wins, including two straight to close out the year, but the Mavericks still finished with a franchise worst 11–71 (.134) record.

Derek Harper Derek Ricardo Harper (born October 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. A second-team All-American at the University of Illinois, he was the 11th overall pick of the 1983 NBA draft and spent 16 seasons as a point guar ...

led the team with 18.2 points and 5.4 assists per game, while second round draft pick

Sean Rooks Sean Lester Rooks (September 9, 1969 – June 7, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1992 to 2004, and was an Assistant for Player Development for the Philadelphia 76ers ...

averaged 13.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, and Terry Davis provided the team with 12.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. In addition, second-year forward Doug Smith provided with 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while Randy White averaged 9.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, second-year guard Mike Iuzzolino contributed 8.7 points and 4.7 assists per game, and rookie guard Walter Bond contributed 8.0 points per game. The 1992–93 Mavericks also had by far the worst average point differential in the history of the NBA at -15.2 points per game – over three points worse than the 1972–73 76ers who won only nine games, and over five points worse than the 2015–16 76ers who won ten.Wright, Kyle; ''The NBA from Top to Bottom: A History of the NBA from the No. 1 Team to the No. 1,153''; pp. 74, 115-116. For this reason, NBA historian Kyle Wright declared in 2007 that the 1992–93 Mavericks must rank as, at least relative to their opponents, ''the'' worst team in the history of the NBA. Following the season, Heard was fired as head coach, and Iuzzolino signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic, but was later on released to free agency. For the season, the Mavericks changed the wordmark of the city and team name on their primary logo, slightly redesigned their home uniforms, and sported new blue road uniforms. The redesigned logo and uniforms both remained in use until 2001.

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

* Shooting guard

missed the entire season due to a knee injury.

Regular season

Season standings

:y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot :z - clinched division title :y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

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Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

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Reunion Arena Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks. The ...

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, L 104–118 , Walter Bond (25) ,

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

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Target Center Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, ...

18,202 , 0–2 , - style="background:#fbb;" , 3 , November 11 ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

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(21) , Terry Davis (11) , Mike Iuzzolino (5) ,

11,276 , 0–3 , - style="background:#bfb;" , 4 , November 14 ,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, W 113–105 , Terry Davis (35) , Terry Davis (17) ,

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Player statistics

NOTE: Please write the player statistics in alphabetical order by last name.

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also