Tarik Biberovic arrives in Dallas with a shooting résumé that’s impossible to ignore, but his rookie year comes with one obvious test: can that touch translate to the NBA?
The Mavericks have given fans plenty to talk about this offseason, from first-round picks Sergio De Larrea and Morez Johnson Jr. to the trade for Zaccharie Risacher. Even so, Biberovic deserves a spot in the conversation. He came over in the Santi Aldama trade earlier this summer and then signed a two-year deal, a move that has barely registered compared with Dallas’ other headlines.
Part of that is simple: Biberovic has never played in an NBA game. Drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2023, he spent the past three seasons in Europe, which means he still qualifies as a rookie. That makes him one of the more unusual additions to Dallas’ rookie class, and maybe one of the more intriguing.
What he brings is obvious. The Mavericks badly need shooting after finishing last season as one of the worst 3-point teams in the league.
Biberovic helped Fenerbahçe by drilling 48.9 percent of his threes in the BSL last season, and his track record in Europe is even more impressive than that one number suggests. Since joining Fenerbahçe in the 2018-19 season, he has been a 42.3 percent 3-point shooter overall, including four seasons above 45 percent from deep.
That kind of production is why Dallas made the move. Biberovic is comfortable firing away from long range, and he can knock down catch-and-shoot looks with ease. His high release point, unusual shooting motion, and knack for making movement threes all point to a player who could fit neatly into what the Mavericks need.
But the question hanging over him is the same one that follows plenty of elite shooters from Europe into the NBA: does the efficiency travel? If it does, Dusty May will have a hard time keeping him off the floor. If it doesn’t, Biberovic could spend his rookie season without a steady role.
The path to minutes is not exactly open, either. Dallas is loaded on the wing, with 12 of its 18 players measuring between 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-9.
Biberovic will have to compete with other fringe-rotation wings like John Poulakidas, Jett Howard, and Caleb Martin just to carve out playing time. In a crowded group like that, his shot is going to be the separator.
If the jumper is falling, he gives Dallas something it desperately lacked last season. The Mavericks shot under 35 percent from three and averaged just 31.9 attempts per game, both bottom-five marks in the NBA. Biberovic’s willingness to launch, and to make them, could help on both fronts.
For now, though, everything circles back to the same simple question. Tarik Biberovic has already proven he can light it up overseas. The real challenge is doing it again in Dallas.
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