Dallas Mavericks Head Into 2025-26 Season with Low Expectations

The Dallas Mavericks are heading into the 2025-26 NBA season with rather low expectations. Kyrie Irving will miss a chunk of the season as he recovers from a torn ACL in his left knee he suffered in March. Irving, now 33, has been cautious about giving a definite timetable for his return, a sign of negative times to come in Dallas.

Dallas Mavericks Head in with Low Expectations

The expectations are high for the Dallas Mavericks in a post-Luka Doncic trade world. However, Dallas’ expectations for themselves appear to be low.

The win projections have been coming in for the Mavericks. As of right now, Dallas will likely be a middle-of-the-road team this year. This may or may not be a surprise, depending on one’s optimism about the Cooper Flagg era, along with Flagg’s development as a first-year forward in the NBA.

Mavericks’ Outlook

The Dallas Mavericks’ outlook heading into the 2025-26 NBA season appear to be a mixed bag. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton recently released his win projection for the Mavericks: 43.6, and ninth place in the Western Conference, while Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes announced his record projection: 42-20.

“Although I don’t love how the players fit together in Dallas, the Mavericks certainly have plenty of talent with eight who rate better than league average, including Kyrie Irving (knee), who currently doesn’t have a timetable for a return. Dallas is dependent on D’Angelo Russell solidifying the point guard spot until Irving returns, but this roster isn’t getting quite enough credit due to Irving’s injury and the Luka Doncic trade,” Pelton wrote.

“Size won’t be an issue for the Dallas Mavericks and, by extension, neither should defense. Between Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, Cooper Flagg, PJ Washington, Naji Marshall, Klay Thompson and Max Christie, the Mavs are overstuffed with rangy forwards and centers,” Hughes wrote.

“Don’t be surprised to see units where Flagg or Washington has to slide all the way down to the 2.”

“Spacing will be at a premium if Dallas intends to put its best overall players on the floor, which will make Russell’s pick-and-roll work harder. Not only that, but Flagg profiles as perhaps the rotation’s second-best shot creator. Expect major slogs on both ends as the Mavs overwhelm opponents with their size on D but struggle to get anything going offensively.”

Final Thoughts

The Dallas Mavericks have a good team on paper with the likes of Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and PJ Washington. However, Dallas’ backcourt depth and lack of shooting have been a concern for some, if not, most of the NBA world.

The Mavericks’ signing of D’Angelo Russell may or may not work out. Russell, 29, won’t alleviate the shooting woes unless he returns to at least 36% shooting from the three-point range. If Russell picks up where he left off last year with a career-low 31.4% from the three, Dallas could be in big trouble this year.

The Mavericks’ offense can struggle to score, while the defense can be subpar again and be unable to carry the Mavericks to a plethora of low-scoring wings. The Mavericks can finish with a 40-42 record — more or less — but let’s see how things go.