Dallas Mavericks Timeline-The most bizarre year for a sports team ever

The past year has been very cool in sports, but nearly every year is. The thing about the past year in American professional sports is that no one has had it like the Dallas Mavericks, and maybe not just within the past year, but ever. I am convinced that not one organization in team sports history, let alone America, has had as bizarre a past calendar year as the Dallas Mavericks have had. 

The Mavericks have had plenty of things happen in the last full calendar year; this hasn’t just been a chaotic last few months or so—it’s been the full calendar year. From making the NBA Finals to the offseason, key injuries, and Jason Kidd calling out his team earlier this year. Then the big things were the NBA Draft Lottery and the Luka Dončić trade. This timeline will explain everything that has happened within the last year or so.

The Timeline

May 18th 2024

The Mavericks beat the 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round to advance to the WCF.

May 24th

Luka Doncic Hits an Insane Game-Winning Step-Back 3 Over Rudy Gobert to Go Up 2-0 vs. the Timberwolves

Photo Via David Berding/Getty Images

May 26th

Derek Lively suffered a neck injury in Game 3. He was only out for a couple of games, but he wasn’t fully healthy the rest of the season, and his play dropped significantly.

May 30th

The Mavericks defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in 5 games to head to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011. Luka (you would think) solidified himself as the franchise player and a top-tier NBA player.

Photo Via Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

June 13th

Jason Kidd calls out Luka Dončić after a game 3 loss, saying simply he “has to be able to guard and that he has a bullseye on his chest.”

June 17th

The Mavericks lost in 5 games to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. The year didn’t end the way they wanted, but it ended up being a very solid season, and some key players solidified themselves, including head coach Jason Kidd.

July 1st

Free agency opens up, and starting forward Derrick Jones Jr. signs with the Clippers, and the Mavericks sign Klay Thompson to replace him. It was one of the biggest stories of the 2024 offseason as the Warriors' Big 3 finally got broken up.

Photo Via Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo

October 1st

Training camp begins, and Luka reportedly showed up out of shape for another consecutive season.

October 29th

The NBA season officially gets underway, the Mavericks get off to a 3-1 start, and Dallas goes on the road to Minnesota to get a very solid early-season win led by Kyrie Irving and his 35 points.

November 8th

Jason Kidd calls out the Mavericks after a close home loss to the Phoenix Suns, more particularly the bench, saying how they “need to bring more energy and how they stink,” and he also said the whole team needs to be tougher.

December 25th

Luka Dončić suffered a calf injury on Christmas vs. the Timberwolves, and that ended up being the last game he played in a Mavericks uniform.

Photo Via

Maddie Meyer/GettyImages

January 23rd

The Mavericks, without Luka Dončić, get a huge upset road win vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder, led by Spencer Dinwiddie and his 28 points. The Mavericks throughout the month of January were not that good, but that was a huge win.

February 1st

The first day in February, late Saturday evening, the Mavericks out of nowhere traded Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis and a couple of other assets. It was the most shocking trade in league history and is still surprising to this day.

The Morning of February 2nd

Nico Harrison holds a brief press conference explaining the trade, and we find out Jason Kidd didn’t even know about it until it was finalized. Kidd in the press conference was very shocked, you could tell, and didn’t know what to say as Nico sounded very confident and was very happy the whole time.

Photo Via WFAA

The Afternoon of February 2nd

The afternoon was also chaotic, as the Mavericks had a game in Cleveland. It wasn’t just the trade that made this game worse; the Mavericks were down Daniel Gafford, and Derek Lively along with Kyrie Irving, and PJ Washington. This game was an embarrassment, as the Mavericks were down 19-50 after the 1st quarter and lost 101-144.

February 6th

The Mavericks lost to Cleveland and then Philadelphia a couple of days later, and they were wrapping up their road trip with a game in Boston. Anthony Davis was still not in the lineup, but somehow the Mavericks beat the Celtics on the road. It was a big win for many reasons, especially for the team, because of all the hate they were receiving due to the trade.

February 8th

Anthony Davis had his debut; it was a 26-point double-double, and the Mavericks downed the Rockets at home. The only issue was later in the game, Anthony Davis went down with an injury that would sideline him for the next couple of weeks.

February 25th

The Mavericks went to Los Angeles to face the Lakers, and Luka helped secure the Lakers a win, posting a 19-point triple-double.

March 3rd

The Mavericks are maintaining some solid basketball while Anthony Davis recovers from injury. This evening Kyrie Irving tore his ACL, just adding onto the disbelief, and it was another horrible thing that happened to the Mavericks. Once Kyrie got injured, the team just wasn’t the same, even once Anthony Davis came back, and it was at this point the season was basically dead in the water.

Photo Via Sam Hodde/Getty Images

April 9th

Luka’s anticipated return to Dallas finally came around; it was a very emotional night in Dallas for the fans and Luka Dončić. Anthony Davis was back in the lineup at this point and was playing solid basketball, too. Luka Dončić was stellar and dropped 45 points in a 15-point Lakers win.

April 16th

The Mavericks found themselves as the 10 seed and had a road play-in game vs. the Kings. The Mavericks were the underdogs in this one but still got a very solid win and moved 1 game closer to the playoffs.

April 18th

The Mavericks had another win-or-go-home basketball game vs. the Grizzlies for the 8 seed. A 40-point performance from Anthony Davis wasn't enough, and the Mavericks' season ended as they lost to Memphis 106-120. This was a very disappointing day for the Mavericks fans and organization, going from the NBA Finals the year before to this year missing the playoffs. The iconic photo of Nico Harrison sitting in the stands in the 4th quarter summed up the past few months for the Mavericks: absolute disappointment and disaster.

April 21st

Nico Harrison holds his first public press conference to address the media on the end-of-season recap. In the press conference, you could still hear a sense of nervousness and discomfort in his voice, as nearly every question was about the Luka Dončić trade in some way. Nico stated that the season didn’t go the way they thought, but he said he is confident in the team going forward. It was a very calm press conference, and Nico kept a calm, nervous demeanor. He also stated multiple times that defense wins championships, just like in the first press conference he did after Luka was traded.

April 30th

The 3-seeded Lakers go down to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round, only being a 5-game series. The Timberwolves dominated the series, and it was a good thing for the Mavericks, as the last thing they needed was Luka and the Lakers to go on a deep playoff run.

May 12th

The NBA Draft Lottery came around, and no one was even thinking about the Mavericks possibly getting the 1st overall pick, as they had a 1.8% chance. Defying all odds, they did, and this isn’t just any other 1 overall pick. Cooper Flagg isn’t an ordinary prospect. This was surprising and will be for years to come, as it still does not seem real. Getting Cooper Flagg will re-energize the Mavericks' fanbase and even the organization. Barring a trade, which may be possible with Nico Harrison as GM, the Mavericks will now be in a win-now situation next season, along with a very promising future in Cooper Flagg. The reason Luka was traded was because of his effort and defense, and Flagg, his whole career so far, has been the opposite, thriving in those aspects.

The Mavericks position

Dallas is in a very unique and rare position as of now. Like I stated, they are in a win-now position but now will be set for the future with getting Cooper Flagg. With Kyrie being out for the start of the year next season due to the ACL tear, expect Flagg to be a vital piece offensively for Dallas and to be in a position to have a very successful rookie season from a stats perspective and a winning perspective. Who knows if Flagg will be a Maverick for life? We all thought Luka would be, but we've seen what happened. The long-term future for Dallas still may have some questions, but now they at least will have a guy potentially who can be a franchise star for the next 10+ years.

Conclusion

The Dallas Mavericks have had probably the most bizarre year in team professional sports history. From making a run to the NBA Finals to then signing Hall of Famer Klay Thompson the following offseason, but in early February for everything to change the way it did was bizarre. On top of all of that—the injuries, trades, and Nico Harrison—the Mavericks somehow landed the 1st overall pick. I cannot think of a team that has had it more chaotic within a calendar year; it is truly remarkable. The future still will have plenty of questions, but Dallas now looks set with Cooper Flagg, and him becoming the face of the franchise, it will also be interesting to see him maybe play playoff basketball next season, as he is going to be on a win-now team. It is rare a generational prospect like that will be playing and contributing to winning basketball so early in his career, but it’ll be awesome to watch, that’s for sure.

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Eli Saari