the best NBA online betting sites<\/a> list the Thunder as favorites to repeat. No team has done that since Stephen Curry\u2019s Warriors, but despite a more wide-open league landscape, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company remain the team to beat.<\/p>\nOne of the teams expected to challenge this season is the Dallas Mavericks. After missing the playoffs a year ago \u2014 but only two seasons removed from a Finals appearance \u2014 Dallas is viewed as one of the Western Conference\u2019s top contenders. The question now is whether the Mavericks\u2019 resurgence can lead to a second NBA title.<\/p>\n
The Worst of Times<\/p>\n
It was one of the most unexpected blockbuster trades in recent memory. Luka Don\u010di\u0107 didn\u2019t want to leave \u2014 and initially thought the news was a joke \u2014 but the Mavericks\u2019 franchise player was traded midseason, sending Anthony Davis to Texas. The former Laker didn\u2019t appear thrilled with the move either.<\/p>\n
Don\u010di\u0107 eventually found his footing in Los Angeles, helping the Lakers finish third in the West before bowing out to a surging Timberwolves squad in the first round. Dallas, meanwhile, slipped past Sacramento to grab the No. 9 seed but fell to Memphis in the play-in. Any short-term payoff from the trade failed to materialize.<\/p>\n
The Best of Times<\/p>\n
Losing a player of Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s caliber usually crushes a franchise\u2019s title hopes. But something unexpected happened \u2014 everyone remembered how dominant Davis can be. His arrival, paired with Dallas\u2019 existing talent, reignited belief in the team\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n
Then came the lottery. With only a 1.8% chance, the Mavericks jumped 10 spots to win the top pick \u2014 the biggest leap in lottery history. That guaranteed that generational prospect Cooper Flagg would join Dallas for the 2025-26 season, and suddenly the Mavericks were back in the championship conversation.<\/p>\n
Key Players<\/p>\n
A torn ACL is no longer a career-ending injury, but it\u2019s still a major setback. Kyrie Irving suffered his in March, and even with his optimistic updates, it\u2019s unlikely he\u2019ll play a significant role early in the season.<\/p>\n
That leaves Davis as the centerpiece, now playing in a role that maximizes his comfort and productivity. Paired with Flagg\u2019s athleticism and drive, Dallas boasts two elite talents. D\u2019Angelo Russell will shoulder more of the playmaking load in Irving\u2019s absence, and recent depth additions should help balance the roster.<\/p>\n
Will the New Mavs Click?<\/p>\n
Landing Flagg was all it took for the most optimistic Mavericks fans to believe losing Don\u010di\u0107 wasn\u2019t catastrophic. But that belief also places immense pressure on the rookie to deliver immediately.<\/p>\n
The roster\u2019s construction could also pose challenges. With so many forwards and combo players, some will have to adapt to guard-like roles. That imbalance might determine whether Dallas contends for a top-four seed or scrapes through the play-in again. Building chemistry takes time \u2014 and this roster is still very new at its core.<\/p>\n
Western Rivals<\/p>\n
The Mavericks\u2019 path to contention runs through a stacked Western Conference. The East may be open, but the West offers just as much parity and star power.<\/p>\n
OKC should remain strong, while Kevin Durant\u2019s arrival in Houston instantly elevates the Rockets. Denver remains a constant threat, Minnesota continues to rise, and both the Clippers and Grizzlies are capable of deep playoff runs. And of course, LeBron James could still write one final Hollywood ending with the Lakers.<\/p>\n
NBA Champs in Waiting<\/p>\n
Even after the first preseason win over OKC<\/a>, the early championship buzz in Dallas has cooled slightly. Optimism remains, but most fans see this season as a stepping stone toward bigger things.<\/p>\nThose expecting an immediate title are betting on everything clicking right away \u2014 from Flagg\u2019s adjustment to Davis\u2019 health to Irving\u2019s recovery. Injuries to key veterans like Davis and Klay Thompson could also shape the outcome.<\/p>\n
Dallas should reach the playoffs if it stays healthy and Flagg makes a smooth transition to the pros. But the championship window might truly open a year or two from now. For now, the Mavericks look like a team on the rise, but not quite ready to seize the crown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s that time of year again when anything can happen in the NBA. Preseason is nearly over, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256969,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5117],"tags":[12675,7645,196,5047,147,5278,5,12672,8667,555,4,2067,197,2071],"class_list":{"0":"post-256968","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-stars","8":"tag-anthony-davis","9":"tag-cooper-flagg","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-mavericks","12":"tag-dallas-stars","13":"tag-dallasstars","14":"tag-hockey","15":"tag-kyrie-irving","16":"tag-luka-doncic","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-nhl","19":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","20":"tag-stars","21":"tag-western-conference"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}