The Dallas Mavericks made it to the NBA Finals in 2024 on the backs of Luka Doncic and Kyree Irving for the most part. Luka played injured and out of his mind for most of the playoffs.

Kyree had more good games than bad games, but when he was bad it was rough. The Boston Celtics put a stop to all of that in the NBA Finals with a 4-1 series win over Dallas.

The Mavericks were a lot closer to winning a championship than I personally thought they would be. They knocked out a lot of good teams on their way to the Finals.

The main gripe people in Dallas have about the Cowboys right now is they didn’t do much of anything in the off-season. It didn’t appear that they realistically tried to improve the franchise going into the 2024 season.

I would say the opposite about the Mavericks. They have not been quiet at all so far in free agency.

They lost Derek Jones Jr. to the LA Clippers, but gained Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes and Klay Thompson.

Naji Marshall played his whole career so far with the New Orleans Pelicans. He made his NBA debut on Jan. 15, 2021.

Marshall averaged 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Pelicans, shooting 39.2 percent from the field. According to HoopsHype Marshall does everything well, as they call him a “jack of all trades but master of none.”

Marshall can play defense, which the Mavericks needed in the NBA finals.

Grimes averaged 7.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest while shooting 37.2% from the field and 33.8% from the three-point range in 51 games during the 2023-2024 NBA season.

At only 24 years of age, you have to believe he has not reached his peak yet and that he will be a significant contributor for the Mavericks. As they say he has a very high ceiling.

He should be a major contributor for this team for years to come.

The Mavericks big move was getting Klay Thompson from the Golden State Warriors. Thompson was a major contributor to the Finals winning teams in the Golden State.

In his career he has averaged 19.6 ppg while playing 32.6 minutes per game. During the 2024 season Thompson averaged around 18 ppg.

I don’t know if I would go with the term “The Big Three” for Doncic, Irving and Thompson but I can say the the Mavericks have improved from the 2023-2024 campaign where they made it to the NBA finals.

My estimation of the team is that they will be better than they were in a season that saw them in the NBA Finals. With an improved roster and a healthy Luka Doncic, there is no limit to what this team can accomplish.