The countdown has officially begun.
It’s less than a month until the Dallas Mavericks host the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Center in the long-anticipated opener of the 2025-26 season. Players are trickling back into town to get a head start on the chemistry building process with their new teammates.
For the third consecutive season, the Mavericks will hold training camp outside of Dallas, this year on the campus of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4.
Some of the questions looming over this season will be answered Monday during media day, but others will have to wait until the Mavericks finish training camp and their four-game preseason slate.
Mavericks
Here are five storylines to watch as the Mavericks begin preparing for the regular season.
Related
Anthony Davis’ eye surgery
The Mavericks haven’t officially acknowledged Anthony Davis’ procedure to repair a detached retina he suffered last season, but the expectation is the 10-time All-Star will be fully healthy by the time the Mavericks begin training camp. He reportedly returned to the practice floor last week to participate in five-on-five drills.
Health is going to be the Mavericks’ biggest obstacle this season, especially since they’ll be without Kyrie Irving for several months. Last year, Luka Doncic suffered a calf injury before camp started in Las Vegas. The Mavericks were also without Dante Exum, who missed most of the regular season with a wrist injury.
There shouldn’t be any concerns for Davis as long as he’s healthy for opening night, but more information about the severity of his eye injury could be revealed Monday during media day.
Cooper Flagg’s fit
Mavericks fans will get an opportunity to see the No. 1 pick in less than two weeks.
The team is expected to hold its annual Fan Jam open practice Oct. 10, according to a person familiar with the event. They will open preseason play against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. It will be Flagg’s first time wearing a Mavericks uniform and will give fans an early indication of how he’ll fit into the rotation.
Flagg could be the Day 1 starter, depending on how he performs in training camp, but any possible injuries to the frontcourt could also lead to the rookie forward’s insertion into the first unit. It’s also possible he begins the season coming off the bench in place of veteran wing P.J. Washington.
As long as Davis is healthy, the Mavericks won’t need Flagg to become a consistent go-to scorer on Day 1. There are plenty of things Flagg can do to contribute to winning, starting with using his size and length on defense.
The Mavericks’ bigs will likely do the heavy lifting on the glass, but crashing the glass will also be important for the 18-year-old forward. It’s also likely the Mavericks will give Flagg an opportunity to get some on-ball reps, just as they experimented with during summer league.
Expect Flagg to showcase his wide range of abilities throughout the season, which could garner consideration for next season’s Rookie of the Year award.
Related
D’Angelo Russell, the new PG1
The Mavericks won’t have the luxury of starting Kyrie Irving at point guard to open the season, but they’ll have someone with experience until he recovers from ACL surgery.
Russell was the Mavericks’ key free agent signing to address the void. The veteran guard entering his 11th season will reunite with former Los Angeles Lakers Davis and Max Christie, but he arrives in Dallas with a chip on his shoulder.
Without a consistent role on the Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets last season, Russell shot a career-low 31.4% from beyond the arc. He’ll need an improved 3-point shooting year to make an impact on this team, but he’ll have a defined role as the likely starter, and he can still run an offense at this stage of his career.
When Irving returns, Russell could be the backup point guard, but it’s possible head coach Jason Kidd could play the two guards in the same lineup.
Related
Better 3-point shooting
Defense. Defense. Defense. That’s been the script for the Mavericks since acquiring Davis. While they have the potential to become one of the best defenses in the NBA, there’s a real concern the abundance of length and size will come at the expense of their perimeter shooting.
Dallas finished 15th in the league in 3-point percentage last season with a shooting clip of 36.4%. Irving was their best shooter from distance with a split of 40.1% from beyond the arc.
Without Irving, that makes Klay Thompson the Mavericks’ most lethal weapon from behind the 3-point line. Thompson’s gift of shooting the 3 was already a given for this group, but who among the other Mavericks can help him in that department?
Washington needs to take another significant leap as a 3-point shooter to help the Mavericks become a formidable team from beyond the arc. He shot 38.1% percent from deep last season, which was the second-highest in his career.
Exum is another candidate for this category. He shot 43.4% from beyond the arc in just 23 games last season, but he made a career-high 49.1% during the 2023-24 season.
Several other rotation players could benefit from more consistency beyond the arc, including Davis, Christie, Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin. All are known for their willingness to accept challenges on the defensive end, but their improvement from 3 could be what separates the Mavericks from the Play-In picture to a conference contender.
Act 4 for coach Jason Kidd
Kidd is entering a new era as Mavericks coach, with a revamped staff after losing his top three assistants to rival teams. He reloaded with three new lead assistants: Frank Vogel, Jay Triano and Popeye Jones.
This is an important training camp for Kidd, not only because of the new staff, but also because the Mavericks’ fourth-year head coach has to continue leading the franchise’s transition from the Doncic era to one led by Irving and Davis, while finding a way to maximize Flagg’s versatility.
Related
Kidd’s accomplishments in Dallas through four seasons include two 50-win seasons, two conference Finals appearances and an NBA Finals appearance. The two seasons (2022-23 and 2024-25) that resulted in missing the playoffs landed the franchise Dereck Lively II and Flagg in the NBA draft.
Kidd has a roster full of depth, perhaps even more than last season, that could become a championship contender as long as Irving returns to All-Star form – whether it’s this season or during the Mavericks’ short-term title window. The coach will play as big a part as the players in trying to make a repeat run to the Finals.
X/Twitter: @MikeACurtis2
NBA top 100: See where ESPN ranks Cooper Flagg, other Mavericks among NBA’s best playersA history of Dallas’ most heated ‘revenge games’ as Micah Parsons returns to AT&T Stadium
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.