Saturday night’s win over the Phoenix Suns marked the Mavs 100th chalupa victory. For those not in the know, the Mavs and corporate partner Taco Bell give out coupons for free chalupas every time the Mavs score more than 100 points and win. Mavs fans certainly know the score with the chants of “Cha-lu-pa” filling AA Center every time the Mavs come within a bucket of 100 points.
Nash's Chalupa Shot |
There have been several memorable chalupa moments over the past three years, including:
Mavs owner Mark Cuban’s running onto the court after Gary Trent hit the chalupa shot and an altercation broke out
Steve Nash taking a bow after successfully hitting a free throw
Wang Zhizhi hitting the chalupa shot during his first official NBA appearance
Michael Finley hitting the only alley-oop chalupa shot
“The great thing about chalupa games is that we’re undefeated, 100-0.” said Mavs owner Mark Cuban. “We hope we get to 200 chalupa victories even faster.”
The Taco Bell chalupa program has become a special part of Mavs folklore. Fans look forward to chanting “Cha-lu-pa” when the Mavs are close to the century mark, the players enjoy the promotion so much that they give each other the business until each guy has hit his first official chalupa bucket, and the team even keeps chalupa stats.
Over the years, fun chalupa facts have been compiled. Here are a few:
Total Number of Chalupa Shots ---- 100
Total Number of Players to Hit Chalupa Shots ---- 27
Players Who Have Hit Chalupa Shot the Most ---- Nowitzki and Nash, 18 each
Most Common Type of Shot for the Chalupa Point ---- Jumper (29)
Total Number of Chalupa Coupons Distributed ---- 1.92 Million
The Taco Bell chalupa promotion ensures all fans in attendance receive a coupon for a FREE chalupa every time the Mavs score at least 100 points and win at home. The promotion was first introduced to fans on Jan. 18, 2001, when the Mavs erased a 12-point deficit in the last 3:45 of the fourth quarter to tie the Orlando Magic at 99 and force overtime where the Mavs emerged as the victors, 116-106.
