NBA: Ranking every team based off draft success over the last 20 years

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NBA Dallas Mavericks Luka Doncic (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

29. Dallas Mavericks: 4 points

2003: Josh Howard: 1.5 (1x all-star, 1.5x multiplier for pick outside of lottery)
2004: Devin Harris: 1 (1x all-star)
2012: Jae Crowder: 0.5
2018: Luka Doncic: 1 (1x all-star)

The Dallas Mavericks history over the last two decades shows that they’ve never had a real interest in building through the draft, instead opting for a more aggressive approach of trades and free-agent signings – and you can’t really argue with the results.

They’ve been to two NBA Finals since the start of the century, winning one (2011), and they have the second-most wins of any team during that span. Their new mission is similar to their last one – surround Doncic with the same kind of weapons they did for Dirk in his prime.

Picking up Kristaps Porzingis in exchange for a couple likely late first-round picks and a salary dump is a good start, and they have the owner and resources to pull it off. In an era where the popular method for improvement is tanking, it’s nice to see a team succeed who does things a little differently.