Dallas Mavericks: Ranking the top-10 players of the decade

With the 2010s now over, let’s take a look back at the 10 most important Dallas Mavericks of the Decade.

A lot has happened to the Dallas Mavericks roster over the past 10 years. A championship was won, a roster was dismantled, journeymen and cornerstones have come and gone. Today we look back and recognize some of the best Dallas players from 2010-2019.

10. Monta Ellis

Jackson Mississippi’s Monta Ellis became a fan favorite in his short time as the Dallas Mavericks point guard. The “Mississippi Missile” was arguably the fastest player with the ball in league history.

Monta used his elite athleticism to become the 40th pick in the 2005 NBA draft straight out of Lanier High school. Monta was drafted by the Golden State Warriors. After six and a half seasons with the Warriors, Monta would then spend two and a half seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks before being traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 2013.

As a Maverick, Monta instantly eased the scoring load on Dirk Nowitzki averaging 19 points per game in his first season, second only to the aforementioned Nowitzki. Ellis would go on to be named Western Conference Player of the Week for the final week of the 2013-14 season. Monta would help the Mavericks push the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs to seven games before being knocked out in the first round of the 2013-14 playoffs.

Monta would lead the team in scoring the following year, becoming the first Maverick not named Dirk to do so since the 1999- 2000 season. Leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 50-32 record before losing to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2014-15 playoffs in five games. Monta decided to opt out of the last year of three-year 25 million dollar contract with the Mavericks, becoming a free agent. The Mavericks, who were pursuing center Deandre “my word means nothing” Jordan, would miss on the opportunity to re-sign Ellis.

In Monta’s short time in Dallas he would have several impressive scoring outbursts and hit numerous big shots. Monta was extremely clutch, and his shoot out in Portland with Damian Lillard was one of my all-time favorite regular season finishes.