22 Stars the Dallas Mavericks missed drafting by a single pick

18. Tom Chambers

The Dallas Mavericks missing out on drafting a star player was a common occurrence in their early years, and it happened early in the 1981 NBA Draft.

The Mavericks were a brand new franchise, and with the No. 9 overall pick, they selected Rolando Blackman. Blackman was coming out of Kansas State and ended up having an amazing career with Dallas and even got his number retired, but another star player was also selected in this range.

Tom Chambers out of Utah was selected one pick before Blackman by the San Diego Clippers, and although the difference between him and Blackman was marginal, it would have been interesting to see how Chambers fit in Dallas if he fell one more spot.

For his career, Chambers averaged 18.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from downtown. Chambers was an athletic four who was a great slasher and a solid shooter, and that wasn't always a common occurrence for bigs in this era.

Chambers was always a threat to throw down a big slam, and his exciting playstyle and scoring ability allowed him to make four All-Star Games and two All-NBA Teams. Chambers' best season of his career was in the 1989-90 season when he averaged 27.2 points per game and was an All-Star, and he was eighth in MVP voting that season.