Inside Look: Star-Studded Dallas Mavs Ball Raises $1.5 Million
DALLAS - The Dallas Mavericks on Friday strutted across the blue carpet in their sharpest duds for the seventh annual Mavs Ball, the premier fundraising event for the Mavs Foundation. The star-studded night included coach Jason Kidd bidding $90,000 to win a five-day trip to Luka Doncic's home country of Slovenia, along with bottle of wine from the oldest vineyard in the world.
However, the Slovenian experience was not the top-bidding item. A unique coaching experience with Kidd drew $120,000. The winner will get to play in a full five-on-five scrimmage hosted by Kidd at the team's practice court, and the deal will include coaching tips and tricks, along with a surprise current Mavs player as the sixth man.
Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie won a state fair visit with teammate Boban Marjanovic for a cool $80,000.
In total, $1.5 million was raised for the Mavs Foundation.
Mavs teammates pretty much agreed that Dwight Powell and Tim Hardaway Jr. were "best dressed" of the evening. What about worst-dressed?
"Me," said Doncic, the Western Conference Player of the Month for February.
CEO Cynt Marshall and governor Mark Cuban enjoyed the festivities. Former Mavs in attendance included Dirk Nowitzki, J.J. Barea, Shawn Marion, Rolando Blackman, Eddie Najera, Darrell Armstrong, Josh Howard, Charlie Villanueva and Michael Finley.
Female music group En Vogue kept the party going with an incredible performance. Check out the videos and photos below for an inside look into the glam evening.
The Mavs (38-25) will trade their tuxedos for shorts Saturday at 4 p.m. with the Sacramento Kings visiting American Airlines Center. Kidd's ultimate goal is to help Doncic bring an NBA championship back to Dallas. Could the Mavs exceed expectations? Currently Dallas has the 12th-best odds (+3600) to win the NBA title. The immediate goal for the season is for the Mavs "get out of the first round."
Over the past 25 years, the Mavs Foundation has provided grant funding totaling more than $8 million dollars to nonprofit organizations serving women, children and families in need. In addition to grants, the Mavs Foundation has built 50 safe Learn & Play spaces throughout the North Texas community, including 29 basketball courts and 21 Reading & Learning Centers. These spaces are designed to encourage healthy living and provide a safe place for children and residents, as well as expand learning opportunities and access to technology to support youth education programs, teen and adults job-skill training and other critical programs. Learn more at MavsFoundation.com.
