2026-27 NBA Season Preview: Dallas Mavericks

We are coming up on the start of the 2026-27 NBA Season! We will be previewing all 30 NBA Teams! Today, we dive into the Dallas Mavericks after an interesting 2025-26 season! Let’s jump into it!

2025-26 was one of the strangest seasons in franchise history. Dallas opened the year still reeling from the Luka Dončić trade. They started 3-8, and then watched the front office implode when GM Nico Harrison was fired on November 11, less than a month into the season. Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi took over on an interim basis.

To make things worse, Kyrie Irving, who tore his ACL in March 2025, never got close to the floor. The Mavericks shut him down for the entire season to protect his long-term recovery. That exacerbated the point guard issues that the Mavericks faced the entire season.

Additionally, Anthony Davis battled injuries all year. He was ultimately salary-dumped to the Washington Wizards in February in an eight-player deal that netted Dallas Khris Middleton, Marvin Bagley III, AJ Johnson, and a haul of draft picks. The deal was essentially an admission that the Davis swap hadn’t worked.

The only bright spot was rookie Cooper Flagg. He looked every bit the No. 1 overall pick and gave Mavs fans a legitimate cornerstone to build around. Still, none of it was enough to keep Dallas competitive. The Mavericks finished 26-56, 12th in the West, missing the playoffs for the second straight year.

The rebuild got a serious jolt of credibility this summer. Longtime Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri was hired as President of Basketball Operations, pairing with new general manager Mike Schmitz. The Mavericks then moved on from Jason Kidd, hiring Dusty May as head coach.

In trades, Dallas sent AJ Johnson and three draft picks to Memphis for forward Santi Aldama. They also worked out a deal to bring Detroit guard Marcus Sasser back home. The front office also exercised its team option on Ryan Nembhard and extended a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Moussa Cisse. On the outgoing side, Dallas let Khris Middleton, Dwight Powell, Brandon Williams, and Marvin Bagley III all walk in free agency.

May’s fingerprints were all over the draft with picks Nos. 9, 30, and 48 to work with. Dallas maneuvered around the board and left with Morez Johnson Jr., Spanish guard Sergio De Larrea, Virginia Tech forward Tobi Lawal, and Russian sharpshooter Vsevolod Ishchenko.

Kyrie Irving, G – Irving is coming off a torn ACL. However, he had the entire season to recover. That means that the All-Star guard is coming back at what can only be assumed to be 100%. He will be able to fix the guard problems that plagued the Mavericks all season.

Max Christie, G – Christie is a dependable guard who started in all but nine of the games he played in last year for the Mavericks. He brings efficient scoring on essentially 50, 40, 90 shooting. He will also not turn the ball over often when he has it.

Cooper Flagg, F – Flagg is coming off an impressive rookie season in which he lived up to the billing of the No. 1 overall pick. He broke several rookie scoring records on his way to averaging 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. Now, he’s poised for another incredible season with an improved roster around him.

P.J. Washington, F – Despite missing some time last season, Washington was a starter in 53 out of the 56 games he did play. He didn’t bring the normal level of shooting that people have grown accustomed to seeing, but he is still a reliable piece for the Mavericks.

Daniel Gafford, C – Gafford was a solid piece for the Mavericks. He played within his role, being the interior presence that the Mavericks needed. He finished the season averaging 9.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks despite missing a decent number of games.

Naji Marshall, F – Marshall is a very reliable bench piece who knows his role. He averaged 15.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.3 steals last season. He also showed that he is capable of starting games if there are injuries, starting in 47 games last season.

Caleb Martin, F – Martin is coming off a bounce-back season after injuries limited him to 14 games in 2024. Coming off the bench, his shooting averages went back to his normal levels. He is a solid shooter and provides a good spark for the team.

Dereck Lively II, C – Lively missed the majority of the season after undergoing season-ending foot surgery in December. However, when he is on the court, he has proven to be a talented big. The only question is health because he has failed to play more than 55 games in a season.

Santi Aldama, F – Aldama is coming off of knee surgery in March that ended his season early. However, he is expected to be back for training camp. When he is on the floor, he is a reliable shooter that provides spacing for the team and allows others to drive into the lane.

Irving hasn’t played in a game since March 2025 and will be roughly 20 months removed from ACL reconstruction when the season tips off. He’s said publicly that he’s “close to being over at 100%,” and the Mavericks were 75-53 with him in the lineup since 2022-23, compared to 42-75 without him.

If he looks like himself, Dallas has a legitimate top-two punch with Flagg. If he’s limited or the Mavs are cautious with his workload, the ceiling drops significantly. The Mavericks need him to be the normal Irving that fans have grown accustomed to seeing. That way the team can maximize the talent that they have on the court and bounce back after a disastrous season.

There have been major changes in Dallas. They overhauled the front office, made coaching changes, and reshuffled the roster. All of that points to patience as the stated plan. However, a returning All-Star guard and a superstar-caliber second-year forward are more talent than most rebuilding teams get to work with.

The West is loaded, and Dallas will need a lot to break right to climb out of the bottom third of the conference. If everyone stays healthy, then the Mavericks could be a much improved team led by the Flagg-Irving duo. However, if they are plagued by injuries like they were last season, then this year could be a bridge year as they look to compete next season.

The Mavericks have all the tools to improve and be better than last season. However, they will have to stay healthy and compete in a tough Western Conference. It is hard to see them placing any higher than 10th in the conference, barely making it into the Play-In Tournament.

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