Founded in 1980, the Dallas basketball club boasts a memorable logo effectively combining a mascot, heraldry, and the name of a popular series. Independent and vibrant, it reflects the characteristics of the state, making the Dallas Mavericks logo stylish and appealing.
Dallas Mavericks: Brand overview
Founded: | 1980 |
Founder: | Mark Cuban |
Headquarters: | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
Website: | mavs.com |
The Dallas Mavericks club was founded in 1980 in Dallas, Texas. Since its inception, the team has been based in Dallas. Throughout its history, the players have never relocated. In 1980, at the NBA All-Star Game, league owners voted to create and accept a new team into the National Basketball Association.
Fans chose the name “Mavericks.” The final choice was made between three names: Dallas Express, Wranglers, and Mavericks. Eventually, the latter option received the most support from voters. A group of 41 people who suggested naming their home team “Mavericks” received a pair of tickets to the opening game as a reward. One of the lucky ones, Carla Springer, said the team’s name fully reflects the “independent, bright, attention-grabbing style of Dallas residents.”
The Mavericks’ name and the Cowboys’ nickname are associated with the American comedy western series called Mavericks. It aired on U.S. screens from 1957 to 1962. Actor James Garner, who played Bret Maverick, the main character of the series, was one of the club’s co-owners.
The evolution of the term “Maverick” is no less impressive than Dallas’s championship in 2011. Originally, the term came from the name of Samuel Maverick, a Texas landowner and one of the signatories of the Texas Declaration of Independence. The farmer’s dissent was that he refused to brand his cattle. Historians explain this decision as a lack of interest in cattle breeding, not humanitarian or innovative motives. Soon, people began to call unbranded cattle mavericks. Moreover, it became a term for independent people aimlessly wandering the prairies.
Champ and Mavs Man are the team’s mascots.
Meaning and History
The “Texas Rebels” basketball team appeared relatively recently – in 1980. Over 40 years of existence, the Dallas Mavericks have changed four emblems. Moreover, all versions go in pairs: the first exactly repeats the second, and the third – the fourth. Thus, after 1981, the franchise had only one significant redesign, after which the team’s image completely changed.
What is Dallas Mavericks?
Dallas Mavericks is a National Basketball Association team that has never relocated or changed its name. It was formed in 1980, despite the league initially not wanting to grant a franchise to Dallas. The club currently plays in the Southwest Division and calls the American Airlines Center its home arena.
1981 – 1993
In 1980, a young basketball team, the Dallas Mavericks, was born in Dallas, Texas. Before the Dallas Mavericks owners liked the first logo, designers remade it 77 times. The result was a simple but iconic drawing: a large blue letter “M” with a cowboy hat in the foreground and a green basketball in the background. The blue-green palette reflects the mood of the provincial northern Texan landscape. To the right is the club’s name, written in white and outlined in white and green.
1994 – 2001
In 1994, the emblem changed slightly. Mainly, this concerned the color palette: the shades became a bit lighter, making the drawing not as “heavy” as before. Designers also altered the font, removing the outlines and choosing a standard italic serif font.
2002 – 2017
In 2002, the team completely updated its logo. When the controlling stake worth 280 million dollars passed to Cuban, the new owner decided to rebrand. That’s how the Dallas Mavericks got a transformed logo. It included a silver triangular shield with a white five-pointed star in the bottom corner, the words MAVERICKS in a blue frame, and a large circle consisting of a blue basketball, a horse’s head, and a white crescent with the word DALLAS.
2018 – today
In 2018, the designers of the Dallas Mavericks logo updated only the colors. As a result of the last redesign, the silver on the horse’s back and mane became darker, and the blue of the basketball and the frame around the inscription became slightly lighter.
Dallas Mavericks: Interesting Facts
- Beginning: They became part of the NBA in 1980, bringing the league to Dallas.
- Early Success: Three years later, they made the playoffs, showing they were a team to watch.
- Ownership Changes: Ross Perot Jr. bought them in 1995, but Mark Cuban took over in 2000 and helped the team shine with his energy and new ideas.
- Championship Win: In 2011, the Thunder won their first NBA Championship against the Miami Heat. Dirk Nowitzki, a key player, was the star of the series.
- Dirk Nowitzki: Dirk spent his 21-season career with the Mavericks, scoring many points and winning the MVP award in 2007. He’s a legend in the team’s history.
- Cool Arena: Since 2001, they’ve played in the American Airlines Center, a modern place with great facilities for fans, thanks to Mark Cuban’s ideas.
- Global Stars: The Mavs were ahead in bringing in players from other countries, like Dirk from Germany and later Luka Dončić from Slovenia, who’s become a big star.
- Tech-Savvy: Under Mark Cuban, they’ve used social media and technology to connect with fans in new ways.
- Helping Out: They do a lot of good work in Dallas through the Dallas Mavericks Foundation, helping youth, health, and more.
- Making Records: They’ve set records, like the biggest lead at halftime in an NBA game and being part of the highest-scoring game.
From starting as a new team to becoming NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks have shown how to keep getting better and make a big impact in basketball and their community.
Font and Colors
One of the main elements of the Dallas Mavericks logo is the horse. It replaced the cowboy hat that the first owner of the team, Donald Carter, loved to wear. This image didn’t appear randomly and is connected to the franchise’s nickname. In the literal sense, “Maverick” means an unbranded bull. But this word has another meaning, according to which it should be interpreted as “yearling.” This is sometimes how one to two-year-old animals, especially colts, are referred to in North America.
For the “DALLAS” inscription, a sans serif font is used. For the “MAVERICKS” inscription, the logo designers invented an individual font with round letters. This is a significant departure from the standardized version that was relevant in 1994-2001. The color palette also changed drastically: in 2002, the green was replaced with silver. It was complemented by dark blue, black, and white colors.
mavs logo
Dallas Mavericks color codes
Royal Blue | Hex color: | #0053bc |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 0 83 188 | |
CMYK: | 100 62 0 0 | |
Pantone: | PMS 2388 C |
Navy Blue | Hex color: | #00285e |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 0 40 94 | |
CMYK: | 100 64 0 60 | |
Pantone: | PMS 289 C |
Silver | Hex color: | #bbc4ca |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 187 196 202 | |
CMYK: | 5 0 0 25 | |
Pantone: | PMS 877 C |
Black | Hex color: | #000000 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 6 25 34 | |
CMYK: | 30 0 0 100 | |
Pantone: | PMS Black C |
FAQ
What does the “Dallas Mavericks” logo represent?
The team’s logo is multi-layered. The main one is a gray triangular shield. It features a blue basketball, topped with a crescent with the inscription Dallas. The left side of the ball is covered by a horse’s head. The word MAVERICKS is located at the bottom of the shield. It’s written in black, deformed letters in a blue frame and complemented by a five-pointed star.
Who designed the “Mavericks” logo?
Mark Cuban, who bought the Dallas Mavericks in 2000, commissioned the basketball team’s redesign to the vice president of marketing for Coca-Cola, providing letters from freelance designers with ideas for the new logo. The first version of the symbol with the shield and horse’s head was developed. Additionally, it was important for Mark Cuban that the resulting emblem matched well with jeans – his favorite clothing.
Why is “Dallas” called “Mavericks”?
This option was suggested by one of the team’s fans, who explained his choice by saying the word “Maverick” perfectly conveys the mood of Dallas. This is because it’s the name of an American western television series in which one of the roles was played by James Garner, who joined the group of owners of the newly created NBA franchise.
Have the “Dallas Mavericks” changed colors?
Since its foundation, the team used a blue-green color scheme. In 1996, the Dallas Mavericks got a new owner who wanted to change the palette to turquoise-orange. But his project was never officially presented – it exists only on the internet. Then, the basketball club passed to Mark Cuban, and under his leadership, it adopted other colors: black, silver, dark blue, and royal blue.