Klay Thompson’s year in Dallas ended with a buyout, a fresh start, and a blunt assessment of what the Mavericks became after he arrived.
Now with the Miami Heat, Thompson said he’s still grateful for the relationships he built in Dallas, even if the basketball part never came close to what he imagined when he signed there.
“It wasn’t fun winning 26 games, but I did make great relationships in Dallas, so I’m thankful that I made great friends for life out there,” Thompson said to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “It was tough, them coming off a finals appearance to a rebuild, but you can only control as much as you can, and I’m proud of the time I did have in Dallas."
That 26-56 finish last season was a brutal follow-up to the Mavericks’ run to the NBA Finals two years earlier, and it undercut the whole idea behind Thompson’s move in the first place. He had joined Dallas expecting to be the missing piece for a team that was only three games away from a title.
The vision was easy to see at the time. Thompson figured he’d spend his days getting clean looks created by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, with the Mavericks rolling out a healthy core that could chase a championship. For a while, that looked possible.
Instead, the season unraveled fast. Doncic was dealing with knee problems early in the 2024-25 campaign, then went down with a severe calf strain on Christmas Day against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That was the last game he played in a Mavericks uniform, because he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in February for Anthony Davis and Max Christie.
Irving’s injury only made the situation worse. He tore his ACL a month later and has not played for Dallas since. He is expected back in preseason action on Sunday.
Davis, who arrived as the main piece in the Doncic deal, managed just 29 games over the course of a year because of multiple injuries before being dealt to the Washington Wizards in a salary dump.
Without the first overall pick Dallas landed a year ago to select Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks would have been even further from respectability than that 26-56 record suggests.
Thompson said he’s glad to be with a team that is clearly aiming at a championship again, with the Miami Heat featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Whether the roster has enough depth to truly contend is another question.
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Irvings return matters because it gives Mavericks supporters something tangible to hold onto as the new season approaches. Dallas opens on October 21 against the Houston Rockets, and even with plenty still to be sorted out between now and then, the idea of Irving being back in uniform at least restores a sense of possibility around a team that badly needed one. [Read more 🡒]