The Dallas Mavericks open their season Wednesday night at the American Airlines Center — and it’s a Texas showdown against the San Antonio Spurs.
It’s also the team’s first full season without All-Star Luka Doncic after his shocking trade to the Los Angeles Lakers last year.
So a big question on a lot of fans’ minds is: Did the team lose its magic when it lost Luka? Or is there still enough star power to make Dallas competitive?
Here's what fans can expect from the Mavs this season.
Cooper Flagg’s debut
Ever since Dallas landed the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft lottery last season, all eyes have been on Cooper Flagg — and understandably so. He's been one of the most highly touted prospects and a massive addition for the franchise in the wake of last year's heartbreaking Doncic trade.
While Dallas did get back some interesting pieces in that trade — between Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a future first-round pick from the Lakers — it took some steam out of the sails for some Mavs fans. But Flagg’s debut is going to garner a lot of attention and he's shown some promising signs through Summer League and the preseason.
An interesting aspect of that matchup with the Spurs is that Flagg’s going against another one of the league's top young prospects in Victor Wembanyama.
Wembanyama is going into year three —though injuries shortened his season last year — but he's a game changer on the court. He's one of the best young talents in the league and it'll be interesting to see how Flagg's able to fare against a player of his caliber.
Flagg could also step into more of a facilitator type role this year, despite being a small forward sized player, just with the fact that Kyrie Irving's out for the foreseeable future after tearing his ACL back late last season in March.
Kyrie Irving’s injury and recovery
ACL injuries are always tough. Typically, it takes anywhere in the range of 6-12 months to get back out on the court and back into game shape. So, that could put Kyrie Irving on track to play sometime in the new year, but the Mavs and Irving have been reticent to give any kind of a specific timeline.
But Irving’s going to be a huge return for the Mavs whenever he does get healthy. He averaged nearly 25 points, five assists and one steal per game last year, and played through some other more minor injuries to serve as a real leader for the shorthanded Mavs. The importance of his return could really be magnified for a veteran team that's had some other injury issues, too.
Klay Thompson's getting older and has missed some significant time with injuries, though he’s been healthier in recent years. Dereck Lively II was hurt last year and Anthony Davis has a long injury history. So, getting Kyrie back as soon as they can would certainly be huge for the Mavs.
Anthony Davis’ long injury history
Davis is one of the league's best big men when he's healthy, but he's only played 70 or more games just three times in his 13-year career. One of those was two years ago with the Lakers, which is promising, but the others were
nearly a decade ago when he played with the New Orleans Pelicans. He only played 51 games last year — including his first game with the Mavs, where he injured his groin — and in five of the last seven years he hasn't even reached the 60-game threshold.
It’s tough to say if he's going to be available for most of the season but when he is healthy, he certainly produces. Late last year he put up an average of 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks per game for the Mavs and his career averages are even better than that. So, he could clearly be a transformative piece for the Mavs, especially defensively, if he can stay healthy. And pairing him with guys like Flagg —another strong defender — Lively and PJ Washington, you're looking at a scary defensive lineup for the Mavs if they can all stay healthy.
Playoff potential
The tough part is, obviously, Dallas is coming off a 10th place finish in a loaded Western Conference last year. They had those injuries to contend with and the Luka trade that shocked the fanbase. The Western Conference, as usual, is loaded with contenders again this year with defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder — who have everyone back and are aiming to repeat — but also teams like the Houston Rockets, the Denver Nuggets, the LA Lakers and Clippers, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Some of those teams have even improved from what were really good squads last year.
That’s going to make it tough crack the top tier of teams in the West, but if the Mavs can stay healthy and weather the storm until Irving gets back, it feels like they've got a chance to finish somewhere in that sixth-to-eighth range in the Western Conference.
That would certainly be a step up from last year's struggles, but obviously the team’s 2024 NBA Finals trip really raised expectations. Who knows if they're going to be good enough to replicate that in 2026, but there is plenty to be cautiously optimistic about.
Got a tip? Email Rebekah Morr at rmorr@kera.org.
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