Tobi Lawal may not be a finished product from deep, but the Mavericks don’t need him to be one right away.
The 23-year-old rookie forward still brings enough to the table to matter: athleticism, defensive upside and a real knack for finishing plays. That gives Dallas a developmental piece worth investing in, even if his 3-point shooting remains a work in progress.
The Mavericks took Lawal in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft and later signed him to a two-way contract. That setup gives Dallas flexibility, since he can be active for 50 games and spend plenty of time with the Texas Legends in the G League whenever the team wants. For a roster with a crowded frontcourt, that kind of patience makes sense.
Dallas has already seen that path pay off. Moussa Cisse and Ryan Nembhard both used their rookie seasons last year to work through the same kind of developmental track before eventually earning standard contracts. With Lawal’s physical tools, he could wind up in that same conversation if the growth comes.
What jumps out first with Lawal is the bounce. He posted a 45.5-inch maximum vertical jump at the NBA Draft Combine, and that explosiveness showed up again in Summer League, where he threw down ferocious slams and looked dangerous as a lob catcher. He does not create a ton for himself, but he can finish a possession with force.
That matters because his shooting profile is still light. Lawal shot 32.5 percent from three over his four-year college career, and he didn’t really start taking threes until his final two seasons at Virginia Tech. Even then, the volume stayed modest: just 117 attempts over 116 college games.
So while he can hit the occasional 3-pointer, that is not the part of his game that should define him right now. His value starts with defense and rim-running, and everything else can come along later.
For Lawal, the assignment as a rookie is straightforward: play hard, embrace the role and keep improving. He is not expected to be an immediate rotation fixture, but if he shows the kind of traits that help teams win, Dallas will have every reason to keep him in the mix.
There is also plenty of belief behind the scenes. Masai Ujiri compared Lawal to OG Anunoby, a strong piece of praise considering Anunoby is a two-time NBA champion. Lawal may not be that player now, but the comparison points to the type of impact Dallas thinks he can eventually have.
The other comparison that keeps coming up is Derrick Jones Jr., and that one fits too. Lawal could grow into the same kind of 3-and-D wing with defensive versatility and elite rim-running ability that Jones Jr. became for Dallas during its run to the 2024 NBA Finals. Jones Jr. was never a pure shooter for the Mavericks, though he was at least respectable from long range, hitting 36.9 percent of his threes in 22 games during the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
That progression took time. Jones Jr. made only six threes across his first two seasons before eventually becoming a player who has made over three per game in each of the last three seasons.
That is the model here: let the rest of the game speak first, then worry about the jumper. If Lawal follows that path, the Mavericks can afford to wait. And if the threes do not fall right away, there is no reason for MFFLs to panic.
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Irving is expected to miss the rest of the 2025-26 season as well, but his influence has not disappeared from the building. For a team trying to develop its next wave while staying competitive, the veteran guards experience remains a steadying force, and Dallas continues to treat that as something worth keeping in place. [Read more 🡒]