*** Official 2025 - 2026 Dallas Mavericks Season Thread ***

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Guitarsoup
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In reply to 1988PA-Aggie • 9:52a, 6/6/26
AG
1988PA-Aggie said:
Mild NBA (Knicks) fan here. Just a question, how is the in-state rivalry between the Texas NBA teams? Is there a fair amount of competitive animosity similar to the Astros-Rangers in baseball? Worse, better? Just curious.

My perspective as a Spurs fan:

Spurs and Dallas have a mostly respectful, gentlemenly rivalry. I think most Spurs fans were happy the Mavs got Flagg and happy to see Dirk beat the Heatles. We had a lot of hard-fought games and series in the 00s where each team came on top.

Rockets fans are among the most toxic. Similar to how they act with the Astros and Texans.

I think that a microcosm of that is on display if you scroll the last dozen or so posts on the Mavs thread and the Rockets thread. Kind of interesting the culture, attitude and character of each.
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Tksymm7
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In reply to 1988PA-Aggie • 9:52a, 6/6/26
AG
Back in the 2000's the rivalry between the Spurs and Mavs was pretty spicy. Dirk duking it out with Duncan, Parker and Ginobli, albeit the spurs owned that rivalry. No "hate" per se, just good teams and all time stars going after it.
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Tksymm7
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10:02a, 6/6/26
AG
I think one of the biggest things that makes Houston more hostile as a sports city is the amount of sports trauma they have been through compared to Dallas and San Antonio.

The Spurs are an NBA poster child franchise imo, and we're the best team in the sport more or less for the better part of 25 years. The Cowboys are the NFL; the Mavs while historically pretty terrible, had Dirk and were great for 20 years, the Stars won a cup in 99 and are again one of the best run franchises in professional sports. The rangers are really the only one who I would argue have had a seriously mixed bag.

Houston on the other hand has the Astros who were dreadful up until 2015; the Rockets are historically the best but very up and down considering some of the all time NBA stars they've had, and most of all the Oilers up and left town, which is a wound that will never heal. I think that makes Houston unique but also pretty hostile when it comes to sports, and I'm not even going into detail some of the horrific near misses like blowing a 24 point lead to the chiefs, the 2019 World Series, or 2018 WCF.
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Guitarsoup
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In reply to Tksymm7 • 10:03a, 6/6/26
AG
Yeah, those were great times. After the Lakers superteam fizzled in 04, it always felt like the Mavs and the Spurs were the two most talented teams in the league. So many great games between the two teams.
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zgolfz85
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10:19a, 6/6/26
AG
Hated San Antonio as our closest rival through the dirk era, but a healthy fellow respect hate. Impossible to hate wemby and this young squad. I'm loosely rooting for Brunson, but wemby is just such a great ambassador for the sport.

But, F Houston….in all sports. Worst sports fans in America next to Philly.
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M.C. Swag
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In reply to zgolfz85 • 11:33a, 6/6/26
AG
zgolfz85 said:
Hated San Antonio as our closest rival through the dirk era, but a healthy fellow respect hate. Impossible to hate wemby and this young squad. I'm loosely rooting for Brunson, but wemby is just such a great ambassador for the sport.

But, F Houston….in all sports. Worst sports fans in America next to Philly.


The hate for Houston is weird because the rockets and mavs have almost never been good at the same time. With the exception of the early TMac/Yao years, the Rockets have been bad when the Mavs were good and then when the Rockets got Harden, the Mavs were bad. And it's been like that almost my entire life.
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Guitarsoup
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In reply to M.C. Swag • 11:42a, 6/6/26
AG
M.C. Swag said:
zgolfz85 said:
Hated San Antonio as our closest rival through the dirk era, but a healthy fellow respect hate. Impossible to hate wemby and this young squad. I'm loosely rooting for Brunson, but wemby is just such a great ambassador for the sport.

But, F Houston….in all sports. Worst sports fans in America next to Philly.


The hate for Houston is weird because the rockets and mavs have almost never been good at the same time. With the exception of the early TMac/Yao years, the Rockets have been bad when the Mavs were good and then when the Rockets got Harden, the Mavs were bad. And it's been like that almost my entire life.

I think for Dallas, it extends from how they act around Rangers/Cowboys. And I say that as a Astros fan/former Astros season ticket holder. Even in the TMac/Yao years, the Rockets only won one single playoff series. Hell, from the Barkley year of 1998 until 2015, the Rockets only won one playoff series and that was against the Brandon Roy Blazers. That basically encompassed all the Dirk years. It's just the toxic fan base.
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zgolfz85
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In reply to M.C. Swag • 11:43a, 6/6/26
AG
M.C. Swag said:
zgolfz85 said:
Hated San Antonio as our closest rival through the dirk era, but a healthy fellow respect hate. Impossible to hate wemby and this young squad. I'm loosely rooting for Brunson, but wemby is just such a great ambassador for the sport.

But, F Houston….in all sports. Worst sports fans in America next to Philly.


The hate for Houston is weird because the rockets and mavs have almost never been good at the same time. With the exception of the early TMac/Yao years, the Rockets have been bad when the Mavs were good and then when the Rockets got Harden, the Mavs were bad. And it's been like that almost my entire life.


It's because of the way Houston fans conduct themselves. Mavs fans have always been classy. Any time rockets sniff even minimal success, they turn into tards
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M.C. Swag
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In reply to Guitarsoup • 11:47a, 6/6/26
AG
Guitarsoup said:
M.C. Swag said:
zgolfz85 said:
Hated San Antonio as our closest rival through the dirk era, but a healthy fellow respect hate. Impossible to hate wemby and this young squad. I'm loosely rooting for Brunson, but wemby is just such a great ambassador for the sport.

But, F Houston….in all sports. Worst sports fans in America next to Philly.


The hate for Houston is weird because the rockets and mavs have almost never been good at the same time. With the exception of the early TMac/Yao years, the Rockets have been bad when the Mavs were good and then when the Rockets got Harden, the Mavs were bad. And it's been like that almost my entire life.

I think for Dallas, it extends from how they act around Rangers/Cowboys. And I say that as a Astros fan/former Astros season ticket holder. Even in the TMac/Yao years, the Rockets only won one single playoff series. Hell, from the Barkley year of 1998 until 2015, the Rockets only won one playoff series and that was against the Brandon Roy Blazers. That basically encompassed all the Dirk years. It's just the toxic fan base.


Ya probably. It's just that the Cowboys/Texans, Rangers/Astros were never in the same conference as each other (let alone division, until very recently), so I feel like my own animosity towards the city just never existed. Maybe that's changing with baseball, but I'm not as dialed in there. The NBA is the only pro sport where both cities competed for a shared division, but it just so happened neither team ever actually competed against each other for it lol.
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hph6203
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11:53a, 6/6/26
AG
Can barely even tell that Texans fans exist. It's really just Astros non-sense. Houston should sue Tennessee and get the Oilers name and branding back. Maybe then they could be a real team.

Probably have a little bit less appreciation for San Antonio than most Dallas fans. My one trip to the AT&T Center was Game 5 of the 2006 semis. Walking out of the arena getting **** talked by Spurs fans and responding by throwing up 3-2 and saying going home up 3-2 ended up with a San Antonio stereotype punching me in the back of the head.

Didn't know at the time Terry had punched Finley in the twig and berries and would be out for Game 6 and it would require the prettiest finger roll and one of the dumbest fouls ever for Dallas to get past the Spurs.
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DannyDuberstein
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12:00p, 6/6/26
AG
I think there is decades of pent up envy related to both the Cowboys and the Spurs, and it permeates all houston fandom to lead to some toxic hate of other Texas franchises. The Cowboys haven't done **** for 30 years, but when one franchise is winning 5 SBs while the other was trying to leave town just a few years after a historic playoff collapse that made the franchise a punchline, there's an angst there that has never left. If fact, the Cowboys lack of success now almost makes it even worse.

It also doesn't help that for what they do have, there is the MJ retirement and the Astros cheating scandal that taints both of them. People can argue all day whether they should be, but nationally, that gets pulled out on them - not just by rival Texas cities.
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Guitarsoup
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In reply to hph6203 • 12:10p, 6/6/26
AG
Quote:
Can barely even tell that Texans fans exist.

Oh man, I've lived in Houston over 20 years now and the Cowboys hate is probably bigger than Texans fandom.
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hph6203
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In reply to Guitarsoup • 12:25p, 6/6/26
AG
My general perception of NFL fandom from Houston aligns with that. Think it's just the Texans have and will have a stench of "not my team, not my dad's team, not my granddad's team." Wasn't kidding about the Oilers stuff. Tennessee should just do the right thing and give the history and branding back to Houston. They've established a history of their own equivalent or better than what the Oilers had when they left. Spent years running around in an inferior form of the color scheme, now they're really leaning in and it's gotta rub OG fans of the Oilers raw.

"Our good years" for Tennessee definitely doesn't include Earl Campbell or Warren Moon, and "Our good years" for Houston fans absolutely does.
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Vessel
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2:48p, 6/6/26
I was born in 91, so my formative years involved seeing the Spurs being very good. Maybe for more mature people it felt different, but as a kid it just seemed that Duncan, Bowen, Ginobili, and Parker were so unlikable. They've always been an extremely well run and competent organization. For that reason, I've always hated the Spurs. As an adult, their continued lottery luck as the Mavs have had bad luck has only strengthened my hate for them. Guitarsoup seems nice though.

I honestly never thought twice about Houston sports teams until I got to A&M. Just by chance, I guess, almost all the friends I made at A&M were from greater Houston. That was when I realized Houston fans had such an inferiority complex towards all things Dallas. Had to watch lots of flopping Harden with my roommates… So my hatred for Houston teams was much more inorganic.

In summary, I despise both the Spurs and the Rockets but for different reasons. But Guitarsoup is ok.
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hph6203
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In reply to Vessel • 3:26p, 6/6/26
AG
Astros went to and lost the World Series my freshman year ('05) and their fans were unbearable my entire stint in College Station despite not making it back during that period. Cannot imagine what it's been like since '17.
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Tksymm7
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In reply to hph6203 • 3:32p, 6/6/26
AG
Yeah I'm of the opinion as well that the Astros are 75% or more it. The cheating scandal is the biggest story in baseball the last quarter century outside of the Sox and Cubs winning World Series. It was that big. Then the Astros fans developed a **** you attitude towards everyone. And now everyone hates them that much more.
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DannyDuberstein
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3:32p, 6/6/26
AG
What's funny is they hate Dallas while the whole country hates them
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Guitarsoup
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In reply to Tksymm7 • 3:44p, 6/6/26
AG
Tksymm7 said:
Yeah I'm of the opinion as well that the Astros are 75% or more it. The cheating scandal is the biggest story in baseball the last quarter century outside of the Sox and Cubs winning World Series. It was that big. Then the Astros fans developed a **** you attitude towards everyone. And now everyone hates them that much more.

They were like this LONG before the Astros cheating scandal. I went to games in the summit in the 90s and the fans were basically the same.
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DannyDuberstein
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3:46p, 6/6/26
AG
Yeah, it goes at least back to the 90s. Class of 96 and I was clueless of the hate Houston had until I went to A&M. I actually had an Astros hat and Colt 45s hat growing up. Then I realized their fans were dicks
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Tksymm7
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3:53p, 6/6/26
AG
Fair enough. I'm just saying the Astros cheating scandal poured jet fuel onto it.
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1988PA-Aggie
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8:04p, 6/6/26
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Was at A&M in the late 80's so pro sports was a different beast compared to now. Was just curious where it sits now.

Being from NJ, and a family that was hardcore Yankees, Giants, then a bit less intense Knicks, and Rangers fans, you grew up in an area having two teams in every sports so rivalries within the NYC area were always present. I would say Giants and Jets fans dislike each other the most, a close second would be Yankees/Mets. But the Jets and Mets have been pretty bad for a long time (yeah, yeah, Giants have been pretty bad too...) that some of the heated rivalry is directed more towards Philly teams. Especially in NFL as the Eagles have been pretty darn good.
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hph6203
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In reply to 1988PA-Aggie • 8:09p, 6/6/26
AG
Everyone can agree that the Eagles deserve everything bad that happens to them.
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Guitarsoup
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12:58p, 6/7/26
AG
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Tksymm7
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In reply to Guitarsoup • 1:02p, 6/7/26
AG
Heck yeah hahahah. I love the idea of just saying F it and getting younger.
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Vessel
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In reply to Guitarsoup • 1:02p, 6/7/26
I would do that in a heartbeat, but I don't think the Thunder do that.
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Guitarsoup
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In reply to Vessel • 1:03p, 6/7/26
AG
Thunder need to save money not spend it. Doesn't work from that perspective
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Vessel
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In reply to Guitarsoup • 1:39p, 6/7/26
Guitarsoup said:
Thunder need to save money not spend it. Doesn't work from that perspective


I think implicit in the deal is the Thunder are also shedding Dort and Hartenstein in different transactions. PJ and Gafford are cheaper replacements for those guys.

But yeah I don't know why the Thunder would give up both picks in this draft when they need at least one young cost controlled player from this draft.
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Guitarsoup
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In reply to Vessel • 1:52p, 6/7/26
AG
Vessel said:
Guitarsoup said:
Thunder need to save money not spend it. Doesn't work from that perspective


I think implicit in the deal is the Thunder are also shedding Dort and Hartenstein in different transactions. PJ and Gafford are cheaper replacements for those guys.

But yeah I don't know why the Thunder would give up both picks in this draft when they need at least one young cost controlled player from this draft.


For sure, but this doesn't get there.

+ 19.8 PJ
+17.2 Gaff
- 28.5 Hart
- 17.7
- 11.3
- 9

That drops them about 30, so have any 1M in 2nd apron room but need to add 1-2 players, which puts them up above the 2nd. Still way over the 1st apron.

They used current not next year salaries in trade machine


Maybe assuming dump Kenrich and adding three vet mins and not worrying about the 1st apron get you there or close
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South Platte
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11:00p, 6/7/26
Texas really isn't a basketball state so it's mostly off-radar. But since you asked, all 3 fanbases despise each other, with San Antonio receiving the brunt of the angst.

This Knicks team isn't remotely as appealing as their 1990's teams.
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