Dallas Mavericks: The Dallas sports youth movement peaks with the Mavs

The DFW sports area is home to a team in each of the big four professional sports: the Cowboys, Mavericks, Rangers and Stars. Each of these teams has been down in the standings lately, resulting in an influx of talented youth.

It is hard not to say that the Dallas area is starved for success in professional sports as of late. After the glory years of the Dallas Cowboys in the mid-90’s, the Dallas Stars were the next to make the move, winning the Stanley Cup in 1999.

At the turn of the century, the Dallas Mavericks drafted Dirk Nowitzki and went on a tear for over 15 years. During that stretch, the Texas Rangers went to two World Series’ in 2010 and 2011, losing both, but showing that they were a great team in the process.

As with anything, success is rarely long-lasting and is usually surrounded with some disappointment. This has been true with all the Dallas teams at some point, but over the past few years, it has been tough all around.

The Dallas Mavericks had a combined .348 winning percentage over the two seasons prior to this one. The Dallas Cowboys went 4-12 in 2015 before Dak Prescott took over. The Texas Rangers have put together a .448 winning percentage over the past two seasons while trading away many of their major league ready talent for young prospects. Even the Stars have gone 76-69-19 over the past two years after winning 50 games in 2015-16.

Not all of the Dallas/Fort Worth teams are on their way back yet, but they are all making important strides towards it at the very least. One of the main strides for each team has been the focus on bringing in more youth to the teams. Here are some of the young players that are driving in a new culture here in Dallas.