The Dallas Mavericks made their debut in the NBA in 1980. Since then, the Mavs have won 1,612 games in the regular season, made the playoffs 21 times and captured one NBA championship.

That title came in 2011 when Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs past LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat in six games. Dirk won Finals MVP and Dallas owner Mark Cuban delivered on his promise to turn the franchise into a winner.

The Mavs were fortunate to have Nowitzki for his entire Hall of Fame career. It's one of the reasons the franchise was able to turn into a hallmark organization.

However, the Mavs have also had some elite coaches stroll the sidelines. For this piece, we ranked the four best coaches in Dallas franchise history.

4. Dick Motta

Motta won 329 games during the regular season with the Mavs. He went to the playoffs four times in nine years. Dallas was able to win 11 postseason games under Motta.

Motta has the third-most wins in franchise history for a Mavs head coach. He had two stints with the organization.

3. Avery Johnson

Johnson went an incredible 194-70 during the regular season with the Mavs. He easily has the highest winning percentage in franchise history.

Avery and Dallas went to the 2006 Finals. They should have defeated the Heat but Wade turned into Superman and Miami won four games in a row to upset the Mavs.

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Johnson won 23 games in the playoffs. He's second on Dallas' all-time postseason wins list and would probably be higher on this list if his Mavs didn't choke in the 2006 Finals.

2. Don Nelson

Nelson has racked up the most wins in NBA history with 1,335.

339 of those wins came in Dallas. The Mavs went 339-251 under Nellie in the regular season and 19-24 in the playoffs.

Nelson has the second-most wins in franchise history and his 19 postseason wins are good for third in the Mavs' playoff record books.

1. Rick Carlisle

The 2011 Mavs title team was coached by Carlisle. He has the most wins in franchise history with 510 and counting.

Carlisle is also No. 1 in playoff victories with 28. He is one of the best coaches in the game and Dallas is lucky to have him be the guy who leads superstars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis for the next decade or so in Dallas.