The current NBA Rookie of the Year, Cooper Flagg, formally steps into his position as the primary cornerstone for the Dallas Mavericks during the 2026-27 campaign.
Their schedule kicks off on October 21 with a road matchup against the Houston Rockets. Dallas will then celebrate its home opener on October 24, hosting the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center.
On Thursday afternoon, the Mavericks along with the other NBA franchises officially released their complete schedules for the upcoming year.
Dallas was allocated just a single featured game in the NBA’s high-profile calendar release this week: a President’s Day (February 15) home game hosting the Philadelphia 76ers, who recently added free agent superstar LeBron James.
Even so, the Mavericks secured significant recognition overall with 21 of their games slated for national broadcast. This places Dallas among a group of only 12 franchises to achieve that level of nationwide exposure.
Dallas Mavericks Nationally Televised Games:
NBC (7 games): November 24 at Denver, December 22 at Golden State, December 29 vs. Miami, January 19 vs. Charlotte, February 9 vs. San Antonio, February 15 vs. Philadelphia, and March 21 at the LA Lakers
ESPN (6 games): October 28 vs. Oklahoma City, November 4 at San Antonio, November 18 vs. Golden State, January 8 vs. Phoenix, March 17 at Oklahoma City, and March 31 vs. Denver
Prime Video (4 games): February 4 at Denver, February 13 at Charlotte, February 25 at Golden State, and March 4 vs. New York
Peacock (2 games): March 8 at Oklahoma City, and March 15 vs. Atlanta
Dallas will launch its exhibition run with two games against the Houston Rockets at Macau’s Venetian Arena in China on October 9 and 11. The preseason wraps up at home in the American Airlines Center, where they will host the New Orleans Pelicans on October 14 followed by the Atlanta Hawks on October 16.
The team’s 82-game campaign concludes on April 11 with a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Last season, the Mavericks occasionally flirted with the idea of tanking under Jason Kidd, but as Flagg returns with his stellar play, a refreshed leadership group is now steering the ship in Dallas.
Front office executives Masai Ujiri (president of basketball operations) and Mike Schmitz (general manager) are embarking on their first full year in charge, having named collegiate head coach Dusty May to guide the roster in his inaugural NBA coaching role.
May arrives fresh off a collegiate title run with Michigan, facing the challenge of integrating a mix of fresh acquisitions and returning players.
Elite guard Kyrie Irving and big man Dereck Lively II are anticipated to be fully recovered after being sidelined for almost all of the 2025-26 run. Meanwhile, summer acquisitions Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser, and Zaccharie Risacher join the squad, while first-round draft picks Morez Johnson Jr. and Sergio De Larrea aim to establish themselves as key pieces of the team’s youth movement.
The projected win total for Dallas on DraftKings is set at 34.5 for the 2026-27 season. Although this projection hints at progress compared to last year, analysts have unexpectedly chosen the under at -115 as their preferred wager.
“Apart from Irving, whose advanced age and rehabilitation from an ACL injury raise red flags, Dallas struggles with dependable shot creation,” observed analyst Eric Moody. “Even with Flagg expected to take a leap, the reigning Rookie of the Year operates with a limited supporting group, and rookie head coach Dusty May has a demanding adjustment period ahead. Although the Mavericks should top their 26 victories from last season, hitting the 36-win mark appears out of reach.”
Overall, ESPN handed the Mavericks a B- grade for their offseason moves. Their ninth-overall draft selection, Johnson, teams up with traded assets Aldama and Risacher, alongside popular forward P.J. Washington, creating a highly competitive frontcourt rotation for May to navigate.
With Daniel Gafford, Lively, and Moussa Cisse (re-signed after Dallas matched an offer sheet from the New York Knicks) occupying the center position, the roster’s most obvious deficiency is the lack of backcourt depth behind Irving. This gap could allow May to hand significant minutes to Spanish rookie guard De Larrea following a strong Summer League, while Sasser should also get ample opportunity to develop further.
Though the lineup structure looks a bit awkward at the moment, Ujiri’s proven leadership has placed the franchise in its strongest competitive posture since the highly regrettable Luka Doncic trade eighteen months ago.
Thanks to Ujiri’s methodical strategy, the Mavericks find themselves ranked 23rd in the initial NBA power rankings released by ESPN.
Flagg, who will celebrate his 20th birthday in December, assumes the leadership of a squad that holds genuine, if modest, hope for a positive turnaround this year.
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