Dirk Nowitzki believes the Dallas Mavericks have put together a great roster, but thinks their 2025-26 season will be defined by one factor. Nowitzki spoke about the Mavericks’ prospects during a media session at the Dirk Nowitzki Tennis Classic.
“I think they’re pretty stacked,” Nowitzki said. “… To me, it all depends on health. When is Kyrie [Irving] coming back? Is he going to be 100 percent when he comes back? Is [Anthony Davis] going to stay healthy? We know [Dereck] Lively missed some action over the last few years.
“But if they stay healthy, I think that’s a very deep team,” Nowitzki continued. “At least two guys per position that can play multiple ways with [Cooper Flagg’s] versatility on the wing. Obviously, we heard [Jason Kidd] talk about maybe playing some guard while Kyrie is out.
“So I think there’s a lot of lineups he can go with,” Nowitzki added. “The front line is stacked. It should be really good defensively with that length they have, the athleticism. So yeah, to me it’s all about health, and if they’re healthy, they could have a good year in the West.
“The West is tough as we know, but if they’re healthy, it’s going to be a great season for them,” Nowitzki concluded.
Health tends to dictate how a season pans out for every team, but it’s a bigger concern when it comes to the Mavericks than any other team. To say they were ravaged by injuries in the 2024-25 season might be an understatement.
The biggest blow that the Mavericks suffered was when Kyrie Irving tore his ACL in March. Irving is back in the gym, but you do wonder if he’ll be at his best when he returns to the court in a few months.
Weeks before Irving tore his ACL, the Mavericks saw Anthony Davis suffer an adductor injury on his team debut in February. Davis was the big prize they got in return for Luka Doncic, and he would only end up featuring nine times for his new team in 2024-25.
Davis might miss the start of next season, too, as he recovers from eye surgery, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. This certainly wouldn’t be ideal, but it’s at least not something you’d be worried about in the long run.
As for the rest of that vaunted Mavericks frontcourt that Nowitzki was referring to, they all missed a significant amount of time last season. Dereck Lively II played in just 36 games, while Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington featured 57 times each.
All of this resulted in the Mavericks finishing with a 39-43 record and losing in the play-in tournament. It’s not how anyone saw their 2024-25 campaign ending after they got to the 2024 NBA Finals.
The Mavericks are certainly one of the deepest teams in the NBA at the moment, but even they won’t be able to cope with a repeat of that injury crisis. Only time will tell if that injury bug stays away.
While there are these concerns surrounding the Mavericks, the fanbase is buzzing at the prospect of watching Cooper Flagg in action. Nowitzki spoke highly of Flagg, the first pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, during this media session, and it will be fascinating to see how big an impact he makes as a rookie.
