Browsing: Mavs

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  Tim MacMahonNov 11, 2025, 02:50 PM ET

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  • Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
  • Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
  • Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM

The chant that had become so painfully familiar in the American Airlines Center since that shocking night in early February broke out once again in the final minutes of the Dallas Mavericks’ Oct. 24 home loss to the woeful Washington Wizards.

“Fire Nico! Fire Nico! Fire Nico!”

Mavericks fans had been calling for general manager Nico Harrison’s termination since the moment that he traded Luka Doncic — a then-25-year-old, homegrown five-time first-team All-NBA selection and fresh off an NBA Finals appearance — to the Los Angeles Lakers in the early morning hours of Feb. 2.

At this particular moment, Doncic was in the midst of scoring 23 points in the first quarter on his new home court in downtown Los Angeles. He finished with 49 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists in a Lakers win that night, a stark contrast to the Mavs’ miserable night.

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That foreshadowed the first few weeks of the season that ultimately sealed the fate of Harrison, who was fired in a Tuesday morning meeting with team governor Patrick Dumont, who came to regret signing off on Harrison’s plan to dump Doncic, according to sources. The deal sent Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick to Dallas, a return executives around the league considered extremely underwhelming for a perennial MVP candidate just entering his prime.

“Time will tell if I’m right,” Harrison said the day after the trade. Nine months later, time ran out on Harrison.

The Mavs have one of the NBA’s worst offenses and sit at the bottom of the Western Conference, ahead of only the New Orleans Pelicans, with a 3-8 record as Doncic shines for the 8-3 Lakers, leading the league with 37.1 points per game while also averaging 9.4 rebounds and 9.1 assists. Davis, meanwhile, has played in just 14 regular-season games for the Mavs, missing most of last season with an abdominal injury.

Doncic’s absence continues to hang over the franchise, even after a historic stroke of lottery luck delivered the No. 1 overall pick and prized prospect Cooper Flagg to Dallas. That was encapsulated by a surreal scene at the start of the second half of Monday night’s home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the sixth consecutive game Davis missed due to a left calf strain.

Dumont, attending his first game since a season-opening blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs, engaged in a cordial conversation with an 18-year-old man who was wearing Doncic’s gold No. 77 Lakers jersey.

That fan, whose family has season tickets a few rows behind Dumont’s courtside seats, told reporters that he approached Dumont at his father’s urging to apologize for flipping him off and cursing at him late in the Oct. 22 season-opening loss. Dumont, the fan told The Athletic, expressed remorse for the Doncic trade.

Meanwhile, placards featuring a photo of Davis sat in many of the empty seats around the arena. “MAKE SOME NOISE!” the signs read.

The fans made plenty of noise, firing up “Fire Nico!” chants repeatedly throughout the fourth quarter.

Why did the Mavs fire Harrison now? Will they look to trade Davis? Here’s everything we know about the developing situation in Dallas.

Why fire Harrison now?

The situation in Dallas had reached a point of being untenable. Dumont had lost trust in Harrison, as evidenced by the governor’s involvement in the decision to hold off on Davis’ return over the weekend, siding with the Mavs’ medical staff’s desire to not risk aggravating the calf injury. The uncertainty hanging over Harrison’s head loomed like a black cloud over the entire organization.

“It is just a matter of time,” a league source told ESPN on Monday afternoon, hours before the Mavs blew a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter of yet another loss.

Dumont decided overnight that there was no rational reason to wait. The franchise needed to move on now.

Dumont addressed the move in a letter to the team’s fans Tuesday.

“I understand the profound impact these difficult last several months have had,” Dumont’s letter said. “Please know that I’m fully committed to the success of the Mavericks. … Our goal is to return winning basketball to Dallas and win championships.”

Patrick Dumont in letter to fans: “I understand the profound impact these difficult last several months have had. Please know that I’m fully committed to the success of the Mavericks.” pic.twitter.com/MjqModl5QG

— Tim MacMahon (@BannedMacMahon) November 11, 2025

What stands out most about the Mavs’ dreadful start?

Other than the constant negativity that has hung over the franchise? It’s the abysmal offense, which has a massive void in shot creation and playmaking.

“There is a Luka-sized hole on that roster,” an executive from a Western Conference team said.

Dallas climbed out of dead last in the league’s offensive efficiency rankings over the weekend. The Mavs are now ahead of the injury-ravaged Indiana Pacers, scoring only 104.2 points per 100 possessions.

Kidd started Flagg at point guard, a position the 18-year-old had never before played at any level, in the first seven games of the season before pulling the plug on that experiment. Veteran journeyman D’Angelo Russell, signed this summer as a stopgap fill-in for injured star Kyrie Irving, had an unsuccessful three-game stint as the starter before Kidd went with Brandon Williams on Monday night.

“There’s no point guard. You don’t have a floor leader,” a scout from an Eastern Conference team said. “That’s the first problem. Then you’re trying to make a guy who isn’t a point guard a point guard.

The coach doesn’t trust the guy you signed this summer. That’s obvious. They don’t trust him enough to make him the floor leader, and that’s in line with the consensus around the league. They don’t have shooting and they don’t have creation. Those are things you need to be a good offensive team.”

Dallas ranks last in the league in 3-pointers made (9.6 per game) and 3-point percentage (29.5%). The Mavs rank 27th in assists (27.7 per game). These shortcomings were predictable, considering how much their roster construction is tilted toward frontcourt players.

“Remarkable that Nico did not acquire a good guard this summer so they could win some games,” an exec from an Eastern Conference team said. “That was such low-hanging fruit.”

Dallas Mavericks fans gathered outside American Airlines Center in the days following the Luka Doncic trade to criticize general manager Nico Harrison for making the deal. Jerome Miron/Imagn Images

What’s the vibe inside the locker room?

The atmosphere at the American Airlines Center has been so miserable that the Mavs considered home court to be a disadvantage.

“These people don’t want us to win,” one player bemoaned, according to a team source.

The Mavs’ home-heavy schedule has only made maintaining decent morale more difficult. Dallas is 2-5 on its home floor, and while there hasn’t been any bickering between players, maintaining decent morale has been difficult as the losses have mounted.

“For me, it’s the most I’ve lost since, you know, I think, ever,” Flagg glumly said after a Nov. 5 home loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, which temporarily dropped Dallas to last in the West.

Center Daniel Gafford acknowledged after Monday night’s loss that “at times” the fans’ unrelenting focus on Harrison being fired was disheartening for the players.

“But we all know we got a job to do,” Gafford said. “It’s going to be a long season trying to win back a lot of fans, at the end of the day.”

What’s next with Anthony Davis?

The biggest question regarding Davis at this point is not about when he will return from his calf strain. It’s about whether the organization will consider exploring the trade market for the 32-year-old big man, which would never have been a remote possibility with Harrison running basketball operations.

It’s a path that several executives and scouts from other franchises believe would be logical for the Mavs as Dallas pivots to prioritize building around Flagg. The Mavs have built-in challenges in that mission due to giving up control of their first-round picks from 2027 through 2030 in trades made while successfully building a contender around Doncic.

“You have Flagg, but you’re old and you don’t own your picks,” a West decision-maker said. “[They have to] be comfortable with taking two steps back if that’s the necessary path. Be patient. They need to lose this year, but I don’t see Dumont being comfortable with taking a step back. It’s not natural as a new owner.”

It’s uncertain what the trade market for Davis would be due to his durability issues, although he is still a dominant force on both ends of the floor when healthy. Several league sources were adamant that determining that market over the upcoming months is due diligence that Dallas should do as it’s become clear that Harrison’s hopes of a three- to four-year window of contention won’t come to fruition.

“You don’t go two timelines anymore,” a West executive said. “You say, ‘We’re going to take what we can get [for Davis].’ At this point, I’m not sure what they can get.”

Mavs big Anthony Davis missed a sixth straight game on Monday night with a left calf strain. Davis has played in only 14 regular-season games for the Mavs, missing most of last season with an abdominal injury. Stacy Revere/Getty Images

What’s next for the Mavs’ front office?

Assistant general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi have been promoted to run the franchise’s basketball operations department on an interim basis.

Minority owner Mark Cuban, who wrongly anticipated he’d continue to run the team’s basketball operations department when he sold the majority share of the franchise to the Adelson and Dumont families in December 2023, has mapped out a plan for the front office’s future. According to sources, Cuban hopes to hire Dennis Lindsey, the former Utah vice president and general manager who is currently the second highest-ranking member of the Detroit Pistons’ front office. Lindsey served as a senior advisor for the Mavs during the 2023-24 season, when he had input on personnel moves that helped build the Finals roster around Doncic.

It is not known at this point how receptive Dumont will be to Cuban’s plan, but they have been in frequent dialogue in recent months, a significant change after Cuban was pushed completely out of basketball operations last season and blindsided by the Doncic deal. Coach Jason Kidd received a multi-year contract extension during the preseason after Dallas declined to give him permission to interview with the New York Knicks over the summer.

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  Tim MacMahonOct 31, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

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  • Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
  • Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
  • Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM

KYRIE IRVING’S FACE beamed with a big smile as he approached Cooper Flagg near the Dallas Mavericks’ bench, a stark contrast to the American Airlines Center scoreboard at that moment.

It was midway through the third quarter of the season opener, and hardly anything had gone as hoped for Flagg at that point of his heavily anticipated NBA debut. He had more turnovers than points as Dallas trailed the San Antonio Spurs by 15 when Flagg stepped back onto the floor after a timeout before stopping to listen as Irving approached him, the veteran clapping animatedly and offering good vibes along with words of encouragement.

“Just keep your head up!” Irving told Flagg.

Irving, like teammate Anthony Davis, understands the glare of the spotlight that comes with being the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. But they began their NBA careers with the Cleveland Cavaliers and New Orleans Pelicans, respectively, two franchises that were in the early stages of a rebuild. Flagg’s situation is a far cry from that norm as he arrived in Dallas only a season removed from the Mavs making an NBA Finals appearance. He joined a veteran-heavy roster that has internal win-now expectations even with Irving still months away from returning from knee surgery.

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“The first thing you tell him is to have fun and enjoy yourself,” Irving told ESPN during the preseason. “The work is just getting started, but it is pretty unique in terms of the situation he’s in. But being a No. 1 pick is still going to come with the pressure, still going to come with a lot of the inner thoughts that you want to impose on the team. You want to let everybody know who you are, and you want to earn everybody’s respect. And that’s what it takes to be in this league. There’s no boys allowed.

“For me, it’s just making sure he doesn’t get overwhelmed or it’s not too much for him.”

The first week of Flagg’s career featured mixed results as coach Jason Kidd tossed him into the deep end, starting the 18-year-old at point guard, a position the rookie had never played.

There have been moments when Flagg’s franchise-changing potential has popped, such as his poster dunk over Toronto’s Sandro Mamukelashvili on a fast break. That was the highlight of Flagg’s first NBA victory, when he finished with 22 points and no turnovers, joining Kobe Bryant as the only players in NBA history with a 20-point, zero-turnover outing before turning 19.

There have also been stretches when Flagg has faded into the background. He was scoreless in the first half of his debut and didn’t record an assist in the game, a blowout loss to the Spurs, when reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle’s pressure defense made initiating the offense difficult. Flagg sat out in crunch time, save for a couple of late defensive possessions, and finished with only two points and no assists again in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder the night after his terrific performance against Toronto.

“He’s 18 years old,” Kidd said. “He’s going to look good; he’s going to make some mistakes. He’s going to learn from winning and losing, but being in this seat early on in your career will only make him better as we go forward.”

The challenges for Flagg aren’t just on the floor. His lone season at Duke, where he was perhaps the most hyped recruit in the prestigious program’s history, prepared Flagg as well as possible for the expectations and demands on a No. 1 pick widely billed as a generational prospect. But he has the added pressure of joining a franchise that is still reeling from the most controversial trade in NBA history as he navigates fame and playoff expectations.

“I mean, it’s a lot mentally,” Flagg said after his first win. “It’s a lot. I’ve been through a lot over the last couple months. It’s been a whirlwind, so just trying to take time to adjust and adapt.

“It doesn’t always go perfect right away. So just figuring it out day by day, game by game, minute by minute how I can help my team in the best ways. I think I’m starting to get more comfortable for sure.”

Anthony Davis is the Dallas Mavericks’ leading scorer, averaging 20.8 points, while No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg is averaging 13.4 points on 41% shooting. The Mavs are 2-3 as Flagg adjusts to playing point guard. Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

FLAGG FIGURED THE question would come as he met the Dallas media for the first time a couple of days after the draft. He gave a side-eye glance to his twin brother, Ace, who was seated in the front row, and attempted to suppress a smirk when asked about following in the footsteps of Luka Doncic as the face of the Mavs’ franchise.

“I’m coming in just trying to learn and trying to get better every single day,” Flagg said then. “If I can do that to the best of my ability, I think expectations and pressures that other people will put on me and our team, that will kind of work itself out. So I’m just trying to come in and be the best that I can be and just win at the highest level.”

As focused as Flagg is on basketball, the bizarre chain of events that brought him to Dallas continues to loom over the organization, beginning with general manager Nico Harrison’s stunning decision to trade a homegrown perennial MVP candidate entering his prime to the Los Angeles Lakers in early February.

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The torn ACL that Irving suffered in early March, a major factor in Dallas tumbling out of the playoff picture to get those 1.8% lottery odds that landed Flagg, is healing. The fans’ emotional wounds, stemming from feelings of betrayal, might not any time soon.

The team’s fans have embraced the rookie. His No. 32 jersey is the only one seen more often than Doncic’s No. 77 in home crowds, and fans shout “Flagg!” in unison at the appropriate time during the pregame renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” But the fans haven’t forgiven management. They broke out into “Fire Nico!” chants late in the lopsided losses to the Spurs and lowly Washington Wizards to open the season.

It’s a subject Flagg wisely avoids.

“I’m just locked in on the game,” Flagg said after the loss to the Wizards, claiming he was unaware of any chants from the crowd. “I didn’t even hear those. I’m listening to Coach, listening to the guys on the team, the vets, just trying to figure out as many ways as I can to help the team impact the game in a positive way. I’m trying to tune all that stuff out.”

Flagg slid into Doncic’s former spot in the Mavs’ starting lineup, but nobody reasonably expects the newcomer to replace the superstar’s production right away, if ever.

Doncic led the league in scoring with a franchise-record 33.9 points per game in his last full season in Dallas, when he also averaged 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists. Flagg averaged 13.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists during Dallas’ five-game homestand to start the season. The Mavs have salvaged a 2-3 record despite ranking second to last in the league in offensive efficiency, scoring only 103.5 points per 100 possessions, a number that drops to 95.6 with Flagg on the floor.

“He’s working at his craft to be the best in the world,” Kidd said. “It’s going to take some time.”

Kyrie Irving suffered a torn ACL in his left knee March 3 and is still working his way back. He has mentored Cooper Flagg, who has taken on Irving’s ballhandling responsibilities. LM Otero/AP Photo

IRVING OFTEN HAS a 6-foot-9 shadow in his post-practice sessions, shooting together and taking turns playing one-on-one against an assistant coach, the rookie mimicking moves the nine-time All-Star makes. Irving is happy to offer support and wisdom, but his absence created a glaring void of ballhandling and playmaking that falls largely on Flagg to fill while the veteran works his way back.

The Mavs’ veterans, especially the few with Hall of Fame resumes, are attempting to minimize the burden Flagg feels.

“Usually with a lot of No. 1 picks, you go and you got to save a franchise,” five-time All-Star Klay Thompson told ESPN. “I just told him, ‘Your rookie year is like a free shot. You don’t need to have any expectations.'”

Davis, the 10-time All-Star big man who was the headliner of the return in the Doncic deal, believes it’s his responsibility to shield the rookie from the burden of carrying the franchise — for now.

“We want him to be confident but don’t worry about the pressure,” Davis told ESPN. “I’ll handle the pressure. J. Kidd will handle the pressure. When Kyrie comes back, he’ll handle the pressure. We want him to go out here and just play basketball. He’ll have pressure three, four or five years from now when we all probably going to be out [of] the league.”

“He’s going to be great, but we want him to develop. We don’t want to rush him or anything. But also he knows he wants to win, and we know we want to win.”

There’s a dose of reality that comes with the date on Flagg’s birth certificate. He won’t turn 19 until Dec. 21, having reclassified in high school to allow him to enter the NBA a year early.

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There has never been an 18-year-old playing a major role on an NBA playoff team.

For all of Bryant’s brilliance, he didn’t play due to a coach’s decision in the first regular-season game of his career, and he averaged 7.6 points on 41.7% shooting with more turnovers than assists as a rookie. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tracy McGrady had middling production, primarily as reserves, for bad teams.

LeBron James put up by far the best numbers of any player so young, averaging 20.9 points on 41.7% shooting, 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game during his Rookie of the Year campaign. But the Cavaliers, who were coming off a 17-win season, finished with a 35-47 record.

“We have championship aspirations, but we also know where we are as a team growing and building, not just now but for the future,” Irving said. “So it’s just important, man, that he has a good head on his shoulders, which he does already. He’s very mature for his age, and it’s not too often you get an 18-year-old in your franchise where he’s the youngest and he’s wise beyond his years.

“But also, he’s still 18. So we got to respect that. And he’s still a kid that needs to be developed.”

The Mavs anticipate that there will be fluctuations in Flagg’s statistical production as a rookie. That’s fine as long as the relentless competitiveness that Kidd has referred to as Flagg’s “superpower” is a constant.

Kidd’s favorite play by Flagg so far wasn’t a viral highlight. In fact, it didn’t even show up in the box score. It occurred when Flagg dove on the floor between two Spurs to fight for a loose ball when the Mavs were trailing by 19 late in the third quarter of the opener.

As long as Flagg gives that level of effort, the Mavs will gladly live with his growing pains.

“I think the pressure they put on me is just to be myself,” Flagg said. “Just to be who I know I can be and the person I’ve been my whole life and up to this point. So I don’t feel any pressure from them. They always want me to be great and be who I am.”

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Dallas Mavericks star big man Anthony Davis exited and was ruled out of Wednesday’s win against the Indiana Pacers with left lower leg soreness, the team announced.

Davis came into the game dealing with an Achilles injury.

After the game, head coach Jason Kidd said Davis hoped to return, but the team didn’t want to risk it. Kidd added that Davis will undergo further evaluations.

“Tried to return. Didn’t want to take any chances,” Kidd told reporters. “We’ll see how he is going forward.”

Davis announced before the start of training camp that he will be required to wear protective goggles for the rest of his career after undergoing offseason surgery to repair a detached retina. He suffered the injury after an inadvertent elbow to the face from teammate Daniel Gafford during a game in April.

The oft-injured Davis was limited to nine games with the Mavs in 2024-25 after being acquired in February as part of the shocking trade that sent star guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Davis suffered an adductor strain in his debut with Dallas and sat out for 18 games.

In his brief time on the floor with the Mavs last season, Davis averaged 20.0 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.2 blocks. He came close to helping the team earn a playoff spot, but Dallas fell to the Memphis Grizzlies in the final play-in tournament game.

The Mavs will also be without star point guard Kyrie Irving for an indefinite period as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL. Dallas selected Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft and signed veteran point guard D’Angelo Russell while returning a core that includes shooting guard Klay Thompson, swingman P.J. Washington and centers Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II.

If Davis is forced to miss time, the Mavs should be able to handle his absence with Flagg leading the way until he’s able to return.

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  Tim MacMahonOct 28, 2025, 01:09 AM ET

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  • Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
  • Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
  • Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM

DALLAS — Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg injured his left shoulder on the opening possession of Monday night’s 101-94 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and spent the vast majority of crunch time watching from the bench due to a coach’s decision.

Flagg finished with only two points on 1-of-9 shooting, two rebounds and no assists in 31 minutes, attributing his lackluster performance to being “flat” in the second game of his first NBA back-to-back.

Flagg, the No. 1 pick who scored 22 points in the previous night’s win over the Toronto Raptors, wore a large wrap with heat on his left shoulder when he was on the bench throughout the game. He received treatment and iced it postgame, and said he was optimistic that he would be available for Wednesday’s home game against the Indiana Pacers.

“We’re going to probably get some scans or whatever, make sure everything’s all clean, but I feel like it’s just a little sore,” said Flagg, who thought he injured his shoulder while boxing out. “Just want to keep an eye on it, ice it, do some rehab and should be good to go.”

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Dallas trailed the defending champions by as many as 22 points but sliced the deficit to one with 54.8 seconds left before the Thunder pulled away. Flagg sat out almost all of crunch time, checking out with 8:14 remaining and subbing back in only for a pair of late defensive possessions.

Mavs coach Jason Kidd credited Flagg for showing he’s a “tough kid” by playing through pain but said the decision to sit the 18-year-old down the stretch was based on giving the Mavs the best chance to win.

“It wasn’t his night tonight,” Kidd said. “We’re a team, and so understand that the group that was out there put us in the position to win the game. He wasn’t on the floor, but he was cheering for his teammates.”

Flagg acknowledged that being on the bench during crunch time was something he had never experienced, but he had no issue with Kidd’s decision.

“The way the game was going, we had a group out there that was doing really well and was on a run, so I see where Coach was at with that,” Flagg said. “And I mean, I was flat. I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t impacting the game at a high level, wasn’t doing the right stuff. So obviously, that’s an easy decision for Coach. He was just out there trying to win the game.”

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Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg doesn’t anticipate his shoulder injury will be a problem going forward.

Speaking to reporters after Monday’s 101-94 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Flagg said his shoulder is “a little sore” and he will have some scans done, but expects to be “good to go.”

Flagg appeared to injure his left shoulder on the first possession of the game while boxing out for a rebound. He was able to stay in and play 31 minutes, but head coach Jason Kidd pulled him with 8:14 remaining when they were trailing by 19.

Dallas cut the deficit to 95-91 with 1:25 remaining and Flagg was subbed back in twice for defensive purposes. He finished the game with just two points on 1-of-9 shooting, two rebounds, two steals and no assists.

On the heels of a disastrous three-month stretch at the end of last season that started with trading Luka DonÄić to the Los Angeles Lakers in February, the Mavs got the ultimate bail out in the lottery when they won the No. 1 pick in a year with a superstar prospect at the top of the class.

Flagg will be counted on to be the new face of the franchise, but the early returns from his rookie season show there’s a lot of room for growth with him and the team around him.

Monday’s loss dropped the Mavericks to 1-3. They rank last in the NBA in offense by rating and points per game. Things will improve as the season goes on, especially when they get Kyrie Irving back from a torn ACL.

Ultimately, though, the most important thing for Dallas this season is Flagg’s development. He has NBA-ready tools despite being just 18 years old, but there’s going to be a transition period before he is completely able to dominate at this level.

Losing any reps early in his career is a setback for Flagg, but the Mavs also have to be careful to ensure they aren’t risking him doing any long-term damage to his body.

The Mavericks are off on Tuesday before hosting the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

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  Tim MacMahonOct 25, 2025, 01:53 AM ET

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  • Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
  • Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
  • Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM

DALLAS — Many Mavericks fans vented their frustration, in what has recently become familiar fashion in Dallas, chanting for the termination of general manager Nico Harrison as the final minute played out in Friday night’s 117-107 loss to the Washington Wizards.

“Fire Nico!” chants have frequently been heard in the American Airlines Center since the stunning trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 2, months after the homegrown superstar had led the Mavs to the 2024 NBA Finals.

Dallas’ improbable win in the draft lottery, which delivered No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg to the Mavs, somewhat reinvigorated the fan base over the summer. But the Mavs have stumbled out of the gate, getting routed by 33 at home by the San Antonio Spurs in Wednesday’s opener before losing by double digits to a Washington squad coming off an 18-64 season.

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There were scattered “Fire Nico!” chants during the season-opening loss, although “Go Spurs Go!” and “MVP!” chants for San Antonio superstar Victor Wembanyama were louder. There were thousands of empty seats in the arena by the time the chants broke out multiple times late in Friday’s loss.

“I think they have a right to vent, but there’s a patience [needed],” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “It’s a different team, it’s a new team. We’re just getting to understand each other. We’re going to keep learning each other. So I would say be patient, but I understand the frustration. We all want to win. We all want to compete at a high level, but it’s a game of expression, and fans have a right to express themselves. But that doesn’t stop us from coming to work tomorrow and getting better and getting ready for Sunday [against the Toronto Raptors].”

Kidd signed a multiyear contract extension during the preseason, a negotiation that began after the Mavs denied the New York Knicks permission to pursue him for their head coaching vacancy in the offseason. Sources told ESPN that there have not been any discussions about a contract extension for Harrison, who has two years remaining on his deal.

The Mavs, who are starting Flagg at point guard despite him playing forward at Duke, rank last in the league in offensive efficiency after two games, averaging only 95.5 points per 100 possessions. Dallas has averaged 18.5 turnovers per game, including 20 in the loss to the Wizards.

“Everything’s correctable and internal,” said power forward Anthony Davis, the headliner in the package the Mavs received in the Doncic deal who had 27 points, 13 rebounds and 5 turnovers in Friday’s loss. “We are beating ourselves, and as long as we are doing that, we can correct it,” he said. “But we also have to learn from it and be ready for Sunday.”

Meanwhile, Doncic is leading the NBA in scoring at 46.0 points per game. He had 49 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists in the Lakers’ 128-110 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Flagg praised the Dallas crowd for its energy Friday night, especially during the fourth quarter, when the Mavs rallied to slice a deficit that had been as high as 17 points to four at one point.

“The fans showed up. They were amazing tonight,” said Flagg, who had 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and also finished with five rebounds, six assists and five turnovers. “I thought we were competing at a high level in that fourth quarter. A lot of things were right — getting stops, playing the way that we want to play, and that kind of sums it up. It was just periods tonight, and we got to be able to sustain that for the whole game. I think we took somewhat of a step in the right direction, but it has to be a lot better.”

Cooper Flagg had a monster dunk Friday night against the Wizards but also endured something he never experienced in his one season at Duke — a second straight loss, as Dallas fell to 0-2 on the season. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

Flagg said he did not hear the chants calling for Harrison’s termination, adding that he was “locked in on the game” and listening to his coaches and teammates. Veteran shooting guard Klay Thompson said the blame should be shouldered by the players.

“You got to give ’em something to cheer for,” said Thompson, who had eight points on 2-of-7 shooting in only 17 minutes. “I got to give ’em something to cheer for. It’s the nature of the game, man. I’ve been there. I was a fan for 20 years before I got in the NBA. I would’ve definitely criticized players. I mean, we deserve a lot of criticism. We’re the ones out there making it happen.”

Thompson described his concern about Dallas’ slow start as “high” but expressed optimism that the Mavs would work their way out of the rut.

“There’s always this urgency,” Thompson said. “We’re all competitive. It’s embarrassing, especially for myself [after] talking championship preseason, all that. But I mean, it’s the only thing I play for at this point. So it’s not fun, but there’s only one way out. Stick together and get better and work even harder every day. I know I will, and I know the rest of the guys will. So it’s just a matter of being not patient, but just being relentless in our efforts.”

Asked about his concern level after the 0-2 start, Davis said, “Zero.” He stressed that the Mavs’ improvement needed to start on the defensive end, but Davis shot down a question about how the Mavs and Flagg would deal with adversity.

“This is adversity? What’s adversity?” Davis said. “We’ve got 80 games left. You can run off 10 straight [wins] and then what? This is how I look at it and I’m sure that’s how he looks at it, and that’s what we talked about. We know we have to be better on both ends of the floor, but the NBA season is a roller coaster, so we’re staying positive.”

The poor start is particularly foreign territory for the 18-year-old Flagg. In his only college season, Duke went 35-4 and never lost consecutive games.

“I know I’m kicking myself and I’m obviously not happy,” Flagg said. “I’m a little upset. I mean, it’s just I’m a competitor. I love to win and I want to win as many games as possible, so it’s not a great start. We got a lot of film to look at, a lot of stuff to look at and a lot to improve.”

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San Antonio Spurs superstar center Victor Wembanyama had a confident reply when asked about his historic performance during a 125-92 blowout win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Wembanyama said, “We needed to make a statement in our locker room. I felt like I needed to make a statement to my teammates. It’s also just the beginning because there’s so much more I want to add to my game.”

Wemby led all scorers in the game with 40 points on 15-of-21 shooting to go along with 15 rebounds and three blocks. Per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Wembanyama was the first player since at least the 1977-78 season to finish a game with 40 or more points, 15 or more rebounds, no turnovers and a shooting percentage of 70 percent or better.

The 21-year-old big man took the NBA by storm during the 2023-24 season, winning NBA Rookie of the Year honors and finishing second in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Last season, he earned his first All-Star selection and was well on his way to winning DPOY when he was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign due to a blood clot in his shoulder.

On Wednesday night, Wembanyama reflected on coming back from a potentially dangerous situation, telling reporters:

“[I was] much more in control of myself. The mind, I’m not worried about [that] because I saw what it’s like to be confronted with potentially losing a lot, whether it’s your career or your health. So I’m not taking this for granted anymore. The body? I’m having more fun now that I’m not struggling to move as much. I know I still need to get better, and I’m still going to get better.”

The Mavs had no answers for the 7’4″ superstar, as starting bigs Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II were minus-24 and minus-23 on the night, respectively.

Wemby’s dominance also spoiled the debut of Cooper Flagg, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft out of Duke.

Flagg had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but he shot just 4-of-13 from the field and committed three turnovers, while posting a team-worst mark of minus-29.

With Flagg joining an established core of veterans including Davis, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, there was some thought that the Mavs would be a team to be reckoned with this season.

That could still be the case at some point, especially since Irving is going to return eventually from a torn ACL suffered back in March.

However, on Wednesday, the Spurs looked like the team poised to take the next step and contend for one of the top playoff seeds in the stacked Western Conference.

Provided Wembanyama maintains his level of play and stays healthy, the Spurs figure to be a problem for nearly every team they cross paths with.

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  Tim MacMahonOct 23, 2025, 02:32 AM ET

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  • Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
  • Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
  • Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM

DALLAS — On the first offensive possession of his NBA career, Cooper Flagg pushed the ball down the floor in transition, gave it up to Anthony Davis and soared into the air to catch the lob pass the 10-time All-Star tossed back to him, much to the delight of the sellout crowd at the American Airlines Center.

But Flagg couldn’t complete the highlight by throwing down the dunk. As the ball rattled out of the rim, he crashed onto the baseline, landing on his backside.

It was a sequence that foreshadowed the No. 1 pick’s NBA debut — a lot of anticipation, but a disappointing result for Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks.

Flagg went scoreless in the first half and finished with 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting as the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 125-92 rout Wednesday night. The 6-foot-9 Flagg started at point guard, a position he had never played until joining the Mavs, and committed three turnovers without recording an assist.

“Not great,” Flagg said when asked to assess his performance. “Obviously, didn’t play incredibly well, but we’ve got to move past it, turn our focus and start looking toward Friday [against the Washington Wizards].”

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The game was dominated by Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, who had 40 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks. Spurs guard Stephon Castle, the Rookie of the Year last season, added 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals while pestering Flagg as his primary defender.

“He didn’t shoot the ball well, but he seemed a lot more poised than I thought he would be,” Castle said of Flagg. “I mean, my first game I was out there nervous. He made some good reads. He didn’t seem too rattled, so I think he’ll have a great year.”

San Antonio guard Dylan Harper, the No. 2 pick behind Flagg, had the more impressive debut. He scored 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench.

Flagg, on the other hand, didn’t score until making a midrange jumper on the opening possession of the second half.

“Game one. I mean, he’s still a rookie,” said Davis, who had a team-high 22 points on 7-of-22 shooting as the Mavs’ offense sputtered. “You’re coming in and preseason was obviously good, but when that game one comes around [in a] packed stadium, national TV game … I’m not sure if he’s a social media guy or not, but you saw it — everything was No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and Wemby match up and all this stuff. So you start hearing it, and I’m not sure if it got to him, but it’s first-game jitters when it’s time for the real thing. So he’ll be fine.”

Flagg did manage to become the fifth Dallas player to record a double-double in his NBA debut, grabbing 10 rebounds in his 32 minutes. That list includes his coach, Jason Kidd, who didn’t consider the 18-year-old’s debut to be discouraging.

“I thought he played well. Now, the stat line is not going to say that, but no one in this room is sitting in his shoes. As a rookie, he did fine and he’s going to learn from this game. We all will, and we’ll be better next time we take the floor,” Kidd said.

According to ESPN Research, the Mavs scored only eight points on the 19 possessions that Flagg brought the ball up the floor. He is listed as the point guard in a supersized lineup in which 6-foot-6 Klay Thompson is the shortest player, but the Mavs intend to have forwards P.J. Washington and Davis share the playmaking responsibilities with the rookie in a system designed around player and ball movement.

“We just got a little stagnant,” Flagg said. “It’s early, so we got to keep working on that, figure it out, get our flow a little bit better.”

Flagg attempted only two shots from the floor in the first half. He came out of halftime determined to be more aggressive, going 4-of-11 from the floor in the third quarter, when the Spurs outscored the Mavs by a 33-21 margin.

“I thought Cooper played within himself,” Kidd said. “He took what the defense gave him. He’s making plays. He’s diving on the floor. He’s one that’s not going to go out here and just shoot every time he touches it. He tries to play the game the right way, and I thought he did that in the first half. I thought he was comfortable and came out there in the third, started looking to be aggressive to take some shots that he knocked down.”

The Mavs were outscored by 29 points with Flagg on the floor, the worst plus-minus in the game.

“I’m excited to keep going,” Flagg said. “Obviously it hurts, the first loss being like that, but I’m just trying to look forward to the next one, turn the page and get ready. We know we got to be a lot better than that, so just staying positive and staying ready and just being locked in on the next one.”

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Victor Wembanyama dominated with 40 points as the San Antonio Spurs spoiled Cooper Flagg’s debut, defeating the Dallas Mavericks 119–91 at home on Wednesday.

Wembanyama recorded a monster double-double, adding 15 rebounds to his 40 points, along with three blocks and one steal, while shooting an efficient 15-of-21 from the field and controlling the game on both ends of the court.

Devin Vassell contributed 13 points and four assists, and Stephon Castle added 22 points and six assists to help secure the road win.

For the Mavericks, Flagg scored 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds while committing three turnovers. Anthony Davis led the team with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Klay Thompson contributed 10 points.

Fans couldn’t stop reacting to Wembanyama’s jaw-dropping season debut.

San Antonio held a slim nine-point lead at halftime after a back-and-forth first half. Flagg finished the half without a bucket or an assist but pulled down six rebounds, while Wembanyama was already up to 21 points and eight rebounds.

The Spurs pulled away in the third, opening a 21-point lead and cruising through a dominant fourth quarter. Although Flagg sparked a late rally in his game, it was too little, too late for the Mavericks, who had allowed San Antonio to build a lead they couldn’t overcome.

With the win, the Spurs improved to 1–0 to start the season and will aim to extend their momentum on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Meanwhile, the Mavericks will try to rebound at home Friday when they host the Washington Wizards.

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Ahead of his NBA debut on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks star rookie Cooper Flagg has already been warned about what it’s like to go up against star big man Victor Wembanyama.

“I have obviously seen tape. I have never seen him play in person,” Flagg told reporters Tuesday when asked about facing Wembanyama in his first career game. “From what the guys have told me, he’s kind of something you have never seen before, and you can’t really understand that till you see it in person.”

The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, Wembanyama has shown the makings of a phenom who could eventually become the face of the league. The 21-year-old was named the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year and finished second in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in blocks. His sophomore campaign was cut short after 46 games due to the discovery of deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder, though he led the league in blocks for the second straight year.

Flagg had also been pegged as a future superstar well before his freshman season at Duke, and he lived up to expectations on the college level by earning National Player of the Year honors. The Mavs lucked into the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft despite having less than two percent odds to win the lottery, and they unsurprisingly selected him to assume the mantle of the future face of the franchise.

Both Flagg and Wembanyama represent a new breed of do-it-all type players, as their defensive skills will be just as important to their respective teams as their offensive production. Still, with Wembanyama entering his third year in the league, he will be much further along in his development as he tries to help the Spurs end their rebuild and contend for a playoff spot.

The Dallas-San Antonio rivalry is one of the fiercest rivalries in the NBA, so Flagg and Wembanyama will be tied together for quite some time as they battle it out each year.

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