As you have no doubt heard by now, the Mavs are running a court design contest, with the winner receiving a pair of season tickets.

There’s only one week left to enter, as the deadline is March 14 at 11:59 p.m. You can track all the entries using the hashtag #MavsNewCourt, and from March 18-25 a fan vote will determine the winner.

I took a peek at some of the entries to see how Mavs fans are thinking and decided to do a quick breakdown. I looked at 99 unique entries, although several people submitted multiple designs, and kept track of the five following criteria:

1. Implementing the skyline

2. Using any green or throwback art

3. Changing shade of the court within the three-point line, an increasingly popular trend

4. Using a very unique floor color, such as very dark brown, silver, black, etc.

5. Adding a design element within the three-point line, such as the Pelicans do with their floor. That’s becoming more common in the college ranks, as well.

Here’s a run-down of how many designs used each.

Of the 99, 44 used the skyline in some way, most commonly along the sideline at midcourt, “sprouting up” from out of bounds as we see Cleveland do with its court. Here’s an example of an entry that uses the skyline. (Note: Inclusion in this article is neither an endorsement nor a compliment, etc. The site is neutral here!)

Meanwhile, 13 different designs incorporated green and/or the old logo. See below for an example.

Here’s an example of one of the 39 designs which used a different shade of hardwood inside the three-point arc. Personally I think changing shades is, if done properly, a clean, tasteful way to stand out, especially on TV.

Next, 17 designs used a shade of hardwood we aren’t used to seeing in the NBA. A few college teams, including Northern Illinois, have started that trend and it’s only growing stronger.

Finally, 19 unique entries incorporated some sort of design within the three-point arc like we see in New Orleans, typically a logo with some level of reduced opacity, like we see below.

These various numbers demonstrate that, although there are some certain guidelines you must follow when designing a basketball court, you have plenty of artistic and creative freedom at your disposal. There are rules, sure, but more and more these days we’ve seen teams take risks with their floor, and Mavs fans are doing the same thing with this contest. Thinking outside the box is the most surefire way to push the envelope, and while the winning design might not include many (or any) radically new features, it’s telling that so many entries have so far.

Keep submitting for the next week, and may the best design win.