Today’s prompt for the staff was easy: what’s your favorite moment from the season?
Bryan: December 23, 2025. Denver comes to town on national tv as the Mavs are at the peak of annoying me by going on that brief winning streak earlier in the month, just to go right back to being a dreadful watch soon after. The worries with Cooper’s jumpshot are still a prominent topic of conversation and, and with his brother sitting courtside, Coop delivers maybe his best overall performance of the season against the multiple-time MVP, Nikola Jokic and crew. 33 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, a steal, and a block on 14 of 21 from the field and 4 of 6 for three. He only attempted 1 free throw in that game and had 2 turnovers; it was an offensive clinic by Cooper punctuated by a tomahawk slam right on top of fellow rookie Spencer Jones’ head midway through the game. They won that game too, but I couldn’t bring myself to mind it much.
Tyler: When it ended.
Chris: I’m sorry, I’m gonna say it. For me, it has to be when they traded Anthony Davis. That move signaled the official end of the Nico Harrison era, and the Mavs re-shifted the focus to building around Cooper Flagg. The return was never going to be anything close to the true value of Luka Doncic, but Dallas now has a new star and doesn’t have to operate on two different timelines. And even if you were in the camp of wanting to keep Davis, the idea of paying a mid to upper 30’s guy, who cannot stay on the court, $70 million a year on an extension is so outrageously insane, my brain cannot process it. Good job Fin-Cardi.
Josh: When it ended.
Damn, Tyler stole my bit or more like I stole Tyler’s bit.
Jordan: November 10 against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Mavs had a predictably rough start to the season. The long-term direction of the team is muddied. Cooper Flagg was thrust into a role no rookie should have been in — especially one who’d never played the position he’d been asked to play. His answer was an impressive showing against one of the league’s superstars. All of that culminated in this moment with less than a minute left, straight up against Giannis Antetokounmpo:
The most electric moment of the season. It said everything about what Flagg was about, and why it mattered that the organization fully embrace a new era. It took time, no doubt. But this was the moment that sealed it. It is likely coincidence that the next morning Patrick Dumont, after sitting courtside for this game, fired the general manager; putting in motion where the team is today. When I think of the very few true bright in-game moments from a dark season, this is the one I automatically remember.
Kirk: Jordan took the moment I wanted. Crap. Hold on. But man, yeah, that’s a good one.
Brent: The kid in the Luka jersey sitting next to Dumont – because it confirmed the Dallas Mavericks are the ongoing Black Mirror episode of the NBA since the team was sold.
Joe: My favorite Mavs moment was the Dumont-Luka kid thing. Just a bizarre and hilarious way of ending the dumb 10 months that was the Anthony Davis era in Dallas. Obviously, he didn’t get traded till later, but that was when it ended.
Michael: I’m torn between two and will name them both because one is macro and one is micro.
The macro-level moment was the Anthony Davis trade. I have no problem with Davis, didn’t blame him for the Doncic trade, etc. – no animosity to the players involved, but that trade so desperately needed to happen. It truly marked the end of the Nico Harrison era, but more importantly, gave the franchise their second dose of real hope since the ill-fated Doncic trade (the #1 pick/Cooper Flagg being the first dose, of course). It often feels as though other teams have gone from second apron team to under the cap through some manner of instant sorcery, so my hope had long been the Mavs could do the same. The fact they managed to move on from the Harrison era, move away from the oft-injured Davis to officially make it Flagg’s team, come off the financial burden of multiple contracts, and give the team off season flexibility for the first time in a long time – all in one fell swoop, and all despite Davis being injured at the time – cannot be overstated enough. It was the first real Mavs-related “thrill” since lotto/draft night.
The micro-level moment was Flagg’s 51-point game. 19-for-30 overall, 6-for-9 from deep, 7-for-7 from the free throw line, all in 33 minutes of play, was just an outrageous beast-mode moment. It wasn’t a farce like some high-scoring games can be, and from relatively early in the game, it grabbed hold of me and had me guessing just how special it would be. Ultimately, it had me shouting “next point is 50!” to everyone within earshot so they could stop multitasking and focus only on the game to see something amazing.
Both moments ultimately contributed to a feeling of hope for the future that was elusive for large parts of the last 18 months.
Kirk: I think it has to be the Cooper Flagg dunk over Zubac. I knew our guy had hops, by my goodness this is athleticism we’ve not seen often while in Dallas.
