The NBA Tuesday miniseries exploring the best sabermetric-rated teams in each franchise’s history continues today with the Dallas Mavericks. We made the drive from Denver to Dallas and back once, and it was a doozy; luckily, it’s easier to just go from last week’s entry to this one in the blink of an eye! The Mavs started out as an expansion team in 1980, and in 43 seasons, the team has 24 playoff appearances. Not bad.

A real expansion team, the Dallas Mavericks have won 4 division titles and a single NBA title (2011)—which didn’t make the list below, finishing 11th overall in sabermetric terms. But you will see a common thread between many teams here and that championship team, for sure. Enjoy the look into the Dallas past … go!

No. 5: 1986-87 Dallas Mavericks

This was the first team in club history to win its division: the Midwest. With a 55-27 record, the Mavs finished No. 4 in the overall SRS rankings, thanks to the No. 4 offense and the No. 14 defense. But the playoffs were a big letdown: Dallas won Game 1 at home by 22, scoring 151 points. But then the wheels fell off as the Mavs lost three straight to the Seattle SuperSonics by an average of almost 13 ppg. That hurt.

Center James Donaldson (10.4 Win Shares), point guard Derek Harper (9.4), small forward Mark Aguirre (8.9), and shooting guard Rolando Blackman (8.0) established a pretty solid lineup, supported by power forward Sam Perkins (7.5). The depth just wasn’t there, with only three other players topping 1.0 WS for the season. Thus, the SuperSonics were able to exploit the defensive weaknesses to eliminate the Mavs.

No. 4: 2004-05 Dallas Mavericks

With a 58-24 record, Dallas finished second in the Southwest Division behind the eventual champions from San Antonio. The Mavs ended up No. 3 in the overall SRS rankings, behind the No. 3 offense and the No. 14 defense. Opening the playoffs against in-state rival Houston, Dallas lost the first two games at home before rallying for a seven-game series victory. But the Phoenix Suns dropped the Mavs in six games right after.

PF Dirk Nowitzki (15.6 WS) and PG Jason Terry (8.5) led the team in value, as 10 players on this roster topped at least 2.0 WS overall. But digging the early hole for themselves against the Rockets did tire out the Mavs—as did not closing out Houston in Game 6 on the road when Dallas had the chance. The Suns beat the Mavericks by 6.7 ppg in the subsequent series, and losing Game 6 at home by 4 points was awful for Dallas.

No. 3: 2005-06 Dallas Mavericks

This was the first team in organizational history to reach the NBA Finals, even though that didn’t work out so well for the Mavs. With a 60-22 record, Dallas finished second in the Southwest again, oddly enough, despite a No. 3 ranking in the overall SRS, featuring the No. 9 offense and the No. 7 defense. The Mavericks defeated Memphis, San Antonio, and Phoenix on their way to the Finals, but the Miami Heat stopped them.

Nowitzki (17.7 WS) and Terry (9.6) were the leaders once again, as Dallas had no issues in sweeping the Grizzlies by 14.0 ppg. But the Mavs got some revenge on the Spurs by winning Game 7 in San Antonio by 8 points. More retribution came against the Suns: Dallas again closed out the series on the road, this time in Game 6 by 9 points. In the Finals, the Mavericks had momentum, up 2-0, but it all fell apart … somehow.

No. 2: 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks

With a 67-15 record, this Dallas squad won the Southwest Division—and finished No. 2 in the overall SRS rankings. With the No. 9 offense and the No. 4 defense, the Mavs were poised to make a title run to make up for the prior year’s Finals letdown. But somehow, the No. 8-seeded Golden State Warriors won Game 1 in Dallas and held on to home-court advantage from there, winning Games 3, 4, and 6 at home by 15.9 ppg.

Nowtizki (16.3 WS) won the MVP vote, with Terry (10.8) and SF Josh Howard (8.8) providing the “Big Three” support. But oddly, Dallas had no answers for a Warriors team that finished with just 42 victories during the regular season. Golden State outscored the Mavs by 6.7 ppg, and this was a Warriors group that included such non-legend players as PG Baron Davis, SG Jason Richardson, and SF Stephen Jackson. Just brutal.

No. 1: 2002-03 Dallas Mavericks

A second-place finish in the Midwest Division came on the heels of a 60-22 regular season—and the No. 1 SRS ranking overall, which is a big reason why this team is rated the best in Dallas history. These Mavs were No. 1 on offense and No. 16 on defense. But seven-game series triumphs over Portland and Sacramento left Dallas drained against the eventual champion Spurs in the conference finals: the Mavs went down in six.

Nowitzki (16.1 WS) and PG Steve Nash (11.6) were an amazing duo, but there wasn’t enough behind them in the end. Dallas actually went up 3-0 on the Trail Blazers before surviving Game 7 at home; against the Kings, the Mavericks lost Game 1 at home before fighting back to win Game 7. Those series left Dallas gassed: the Mavs actually won Game 1 on the road, but then they dropped three straight to fall behind.