The Dallas Mavericks had a rough season finishing with a 24-58 record, which was tied with the Atlanta Hawks for the third worst record in the league. Back in April, the Mavs won the tiebreaker with the Hawks to earn the third position before the lottery and were given a 13.8 percent chance to land the number one overall pick.
On Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery, however, the Mavs probably got one of the worst possible results. After hoping for a top pick, the Dallas Mavericks fell outside of the top three, and were actually awarded the fifth overall pick. Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, who is returning for his 21st NBA season in 2018-19, expressed his disappointment via Twitter.
The Mavs will now have a lot of decision making to do, and they'll likely be able to select from the end of the first tier stars in this loaded NBA Draft.
Nowitzki finished the 2017-18 season needing season-ending ankle surgery, one that he says will allow him to play next season, and averaged 12 points,5.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.8 three-pointers in just 24.7 minutes per game.