The 2011–12 Dallas Mavericks season was the 32nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Mavericks entered the season as the defending NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in six games in the 2011 NBA Finals. They were attempting to win back-to-back NBA Finals, but were swept in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder (the team that the Mavericks defeated in last year's Western Conference Finals in five games) in four games. The Thunder would go on to lose to the Heat in the Finals in five games.