The Dallas Mavericks believe that they can go on a run in the 2025-26 season if they’re able to get healthy, especially if guard Kyrie Irving returns from the torn ACL that he suffered during the 2024-25 campaign.
According to NBA insider Chris Mannix, the Mavericks believe that once they get bodies back, they can make a run because of all of the close games they’ve played this season.
“To hear Mavericks people tell it, they’ll tell you two things,” Mannix said. “One is that they do believe that if they can get all their bodies back, beginning with Kyrie Irving, extending to Dereck Lively – P.J. Washington steps on a basketball, he’s been out – they’ve got a whole bunch of injuries they’re dealing with now. If they can get all of those guys back, they’re gonna go on a run. They believe there’s a run in them.
“And they pointed to some of those statistics that we’ve talked about, where they’ve played I think it’s now 17 games that are defined as clutch, five points in the last five minutes. They’ve only won six of those games. And a lot of that has been because at the end of them, they just haven’t had a guy that can create shots. Ryan Nembhard had a great game against Denver. He’s a two-way guy. D’Angelo Russell has not been the answer. They don’t have a point guard that can create offense for them.
“But they’re gonna get one back at some point during this season. And they believe that when they get him back – him being Kyrie – and they get some of these other guys back into the mix, this fever dream that Nico Harrison had about a defensive-minded team that could grind out wins could still come to fruition. The other part of it is – that I keep getting told – is that they say, look, they don’t wanna deal Kyrie Irving. They think Cooper Flagg needs to play next to a elite point guard to develop him the right way.”
Mannix added that the Mavs aren’t sure if they see the “upside” in blowing their team up right now (seemingly through an Anthony Davis trade) since they would likely still have too much talent afterward to truly tank to the bottom of the standings. However, Mannix specified that Dallas has indeed had conversations about what a Davis trade could look like.
Irving returning would be a huge boost for the Mavericks, and he’s one of the best guards in the NBA when healthy. Last season, Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, earning an All-Star nod for the ninth time in his NBA career.
He would be a massive upgrade for a Mavericks team that has very few playable options at the point guard spot this season.
The Mavs also have spent a lot of the 2025-26 season without Davis, who returned from a calf injury recently. Davis has appeared in just 10 games for Dallas this season.
Even with their slow start, the Mavericks are 9-16 this season and just a half-game back of the Portland Trail Blazers for the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. Dallas could easily make the play-in tournament this season, and it has shown some signs of life, winning four of its last five games.
If Irving returns sooner rather than later, it appears that the Mavericks believe they can compete for a playoff spot in the West.
For now, Dallas will aim to get closer to .500 in the 2025-26 season, starting with a matchup against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, Dec. 12.
