5 Dallas Mavericks storylines to follow this upcoming season

The offseason is about stories. There is no NBA basketball to analyze, so all the enjoyment of the sport comes from conversing about hypotheticals. Football is back, which means Cowboys-fueled disappointment has activated my basketball brain. It is time to turn away from an embarrassing Cowboys loss on Sunday Night Football and turn towards a compelling Mavericks season ahead. Here are five storylines to follow this season in Dallas:

Arguably the most important offseason for any young superstar is the one between his rookie and second year. LeBron James was a prodigy, but he became LeBron James in year two. His scoring jumped from 20.7 points per game to 27.2 and didn’t dip below 24 until last year, his 23rd season. It was a similar story for our own Luka Doncic, who was exciting and fun in his first go-around, but became Luka Doncic with a similar scoring jump in year two and never looked back.

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This is what Cooper Flagg will aim to do. There is a lot of leeway for rookies because of their inherent team situations and the learning curve the NBA demands, but year two is much less forgiving. For a lot of the game’s best, what we think of them today is what we thought of them in their second season, with fine tweaks around the edges. Flagg averaged 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists last year. He was the Rookie of the Year. There is pressure on him to build on that. It will be both exciting and nerve-wracking to watch as he attempts to become the next guy to establish himself as one of the game’s best.

When Kyrie Irving was traded to Dallas in 2023, I do not think any of us expected him to both stick around this long and be as universally loved by the fanbase. He was a character shrouded in uncertainty and had a closet full of skeletons when the Mavericks got him. In fact, that’s partially why the Mavericks were able to get him for the price they did. Now, three-and-a-half years later, Irving is a beloved member of the team and one who has stated he loves being here. He made sense on the team he was traded to, but now that the circumstances have changed, his future here is unclear.

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Publish date : 2026-09-17 11:00:00

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