Dallas Mavericks fans have gone a long time without basketball, long than they’ve gone in years. After three straight trips to the playoffs, the Mavericks fell short in the 2022-23 season, collapsing in March and April and falling out of the play-in hunt. So it’s been over two and a half months since the Dallas Mavericks suited up to play a basketball game. Today, the Summer Dallas Mavericks face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
- WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Oklahoma City Thunder
- WHAT: Game one of Las Vegas Summer League
- WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
- WHEN: 2:30 p.m. CST
- HOW: ESPN2
The Dallas Mavericks have lost their last five summer league games and have just won one in their last 10 attempts. Granted, those teams only share the same Mavericks name, but it’s illustrative to help inform how poor Dallas has been in Las Vegas Summer League going back years.
This leads us to the Oklahoma City Thunder and their Summer League roster. As of this writing, it’s expected that 2022 number 2 over all pick Chet Walker should play, along with the 34th pick from the same draft Jaylin Williams. Rookie of the year runner up Jalen Williams is on the roster and but he’s not suiting up after earlier Summer League dominance. Ousmane Dieng should get burn, along with Tre Mann. If you’re recognizing all these names, it’s because the Thunder have a heck of a roster.
The Mavericks feature their best squad in over a decade though, so it should be a great game. Dallas fans will get their first looks at Dereck Lively and Olivier-Maxence Prosper, the first-round picks from June’s NBA Draft. Jaden Hardy will be the main threat for Dallas and given how Jared Dudley’s talked up both his work and what he needs to improve, he’s definitely appointment viewing. Mike Miles from TCU should be a run watch right along with Jelly Walker as well.
We’ll have coverage after the game in some form, so be sure to hang out.