The Dallas Mavericks opened the regular season on Wednesday night with an ugly 125-92 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. A lot of the concerns that people (like myself) had about this team entering the season reared their ugly heads, as the offense really struggled, Cooper Flagg looked uncomfortable at point guard, and Victor Wembanyama torched anyone and everyone in his path.
In a night where a few top rookies had outstanding debuts (hello, VJ Edgecombe), Cooper Flagg was not one of them. He was scoreless in the first half and only attempted two shots before finally being more aggressive in the third quarter. He’d finish with 10 points and 10 rebounds on 4/13 shooting, but I’ll discuss him more in a minute.
It was hard not to be alarmed by this game. Granted, no one else in the league has an alien at center who can dominate both ends of the floor in the way that Victor Wembanyama did in this game. But everything looked difficult for Dallas on Wednesday’s loss, and that will only make the pressure mount on this team further.
Here are three overreactions from the first loss of the season for the Mavs. If the “Fire Nico” chants haven’t started by now, they will soon.
READ MORE: Season predictions for the 2025-26 Dallas Mavericks
Oct 22, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) reacts against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
I do not blame Cooper Flagg’s poor performance on him. He’s been thrust onto a team that just does not make sense top to bottom. Four of the five starters for the Mavs were playing out of position. There’s no shooting or pace. And the playmaking is nonexistent.
We’ve seen Jason Kidd do this before, as he had Giannis Antetokounmpo operate as the point guard during Kidd’s time as Milwaukee’s head coach. The vision is there, but when you watch Cooper Flagg’s Duke tape, he was at his best as a secondary playmaker, cutting backdoor, and crashing the offensive glass. And I get wanting to develop his primary playmaking. But trying to do that on a “contending” team is going to make this offense look brutal.
Sep 29, 2025; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) poses for a photo during the Mavericks 2025 media day at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
On paper, this may seem like a crazy sentence. The Mavericks need three-point shooting. Why would they bench the only three-point shooter they have in the starting lineup? Thompson had a rough outing on Wednesday night, putting up 10 points on 4/13 shooting, including just 1/5 from three-point range. And when he missed, they were BAD misses.
They likely can’t afford to start anyone over him right now, but when Kyrie Irving returns later in the season, or if they can make a trade for a better ball-handler that’s not D’Angelo Russell or Jaden Hardy, Thompson may be the odd man out.
Oct 22, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates with San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) during the first half against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Victor Wembanyama’s season-opening performance is one of the more absurd games you’ll see from any player. And when you consider he’s 7’4″, hitting crossover step-back threes, fighting through contact to get to the rim, nailing fall-away jumpers, double-clutching dunks, and blocking shots so disrespectfully that they look like volleyball spikes, this was an all-time performance.
Wemby finished with 40 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks on a ridiculous 15/21 shooting (9/11 from the free-throw line), and he looks every bit of an MVP contender if he can stay healthy.
READ MORE: Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg set for NBA debut against Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
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