As the current holder of the NBA Rookie of the Year award, Cooper Flagg is set to step up as the primary cornerstone for the Dallas Mavericks during the 2026-27 campaign.
Their schedule kicks off on Oct. 21 with a road trip south to battle the Houston Rockets. Following this, the team will host their first home game at the American Airlines Center on Oct. 24, welcoming the San Antonio Spurs.
On Thursday afternoon, the complete seasonal calendar was released by the Mavericks alongside the rest of the league.
In the NBA’s major calendar rollout this week, Dallas was awarded just a single premier national broadcast: a President’s Day showdown on Feb. 15 at home against the Philadelphia 76ers, who recently added free agent LeBron James to their roster.
Nevertheless, the Mavericks secured significant recognition overall with 21 of their contests scheduled for national broadcast. This places Dallas among an exclusive group of 12 franchises to have that many nationally broadcasted matchups.
Dallas Mavericks National Broadcast Schedule:
NBC (7 matchups): Nov. 24 away at Denver, Dec. 22 away at Golden State, Dec. 29 hosting Miami, Jan. 19 hosting Charlotte, Feb. 9 hosting San Antonio, Feb. 15 hosting Philadelphia, March 21 away at LA Lakers
ESPN (6 matchups): Oct. 28 hosting Oklahoma City, Nov. 4 away at San Antonio, Nov. 18 hosting Golden State, Jan. 8 hosting Phoenix, March 17 away at Oklahoma City, March 31 hosting Denver
Prime Video (4 matchups): Feb. 4 away at Denver, Feb. 13 away at Charlotte, Feb. 25 away at Golden State, March 4 hosting New York
Peacock (2 matchups): March 8 away at Oklahoma City, March 15 hosting Atlanta
Dallas will kick off their exhibition schedule with two games against the Houston Rockets at The Venetian Arena in Macau, China, scheduled for Oct. 9 and 11. They will wrap up the preseason at the American Airlines Center with games against the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 14 and the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 16.
The 82-game campaign wraps up at home on April 11 as the Mavericks play host to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Under Jason Kidd’s guidance last season, Dallas occasionally looked ready to throw in the towel, but despite Flagg returning with his stellar play, a freshly structured leadership group is now steering the team.
Basketball operations president Masai Ujiri and GM Mike Schmitz are beginning their inaugural full year running the front office, having selected collegiate head coach Dusty May to make his professional coaching debut leading the roster.
Fresh off securing a national title with Michigan, May is now responsible for integrating a blend of fresh acquisitions and returning players.
Elite guard Kyrie Irving and big man Dereck Lively II are projected to return in full health after being sidelined for almost all of the 2025-26 campaign. Recent acquisitions Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser, and Zaccharie Risacher join the squad following various summer moves, while first-round draft picks Morez Johnson Jr. and Sergio De Larrea aim to secure steady rotation spots in the team’s youthful core.
The projected win total for Dallas is set at 34.5 by DraftKings for the 2026-27 campaign. Even though this target points to a minor upgrade from last season, the outlet surprisingly recommends taking the under at 34.5 (-115) as their top wager.
“Dallas struggles to find consistent playmaking beyond Irving, whose advancing years and recovery from an ACL injury raise significant questions,” analyst Eric Moody observed. “Although Flagg is bound to progress, the defending Rookie of the Year still operates with a limited supporting group, and rookie coach Dusty May faces a demanding transition to the pros. Dallas is likely to surpass last year’s 26 victories, but hitting the 36-win mark seems improbable.”
ESPN gave the Mavericks’ summer moves a B- grade overall. With ninth-overall selection Johnson joining traded-for pieces Aldama and Risacher, alongside fan-favorite P.J. Washington, Coach May will have a heavily populated frontcourt to manage.
With Daniel Gafford, Lively, and Moussa Cisse (whose offer sheet from the New York Knicks was matched by Dallas) protecting the paint, the primary weakness on the roster remains the backcourt depth behind Irving. This gives May an opening to hand meaningful minutes to Spanish rookie playmaker De Larrea following a strong Summer League, while Sasser will also have the space to develop further.
Though the roster construction appears somewhat awkward right now, Ujiri’s leadership has steered the franchise into its most competitive state since the highly criticized trade of Luka Doncic eighteen months ago.
Thanks to Ujiri’s calculated patience, Dallas starts at the No. 23 spot in the initial NBA power rankings released by ESPN.
Flagg, who will celebrate his 20th birthday in December, takes the reins of a franchise that has legitimate reasons to hope for a positive upswing, even if it is a modest one, this year.
Dallas Mavericks Grouped with Jazz, Nuggets, Rockets, and Suns for NBA Cup Play
Dallas falls into a highly competitive West Group A alongside the Jazz, Nuggets, Rockets, and Suns for the fourth annual edition of the NBA’s in-season tournament.
