As the 2024-25 NBA season approaches, the Dallas Mavericks should be considered title contenders once more. Last season, they surprised everyone by advancing to the NBA Finals as the fifth seed from the West, eventually falling to the Boston Celtics.
Despite losing Tim Hardaway Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr. in free agency, the Mavericks made strong moves through free agency and trades. They brought in Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall, Klay Thompson, and Spencer Dinwiddie to contend in the West. Just over two weeks ago, Marshall was recognized as the most underrated forward in the NBA, and Thompson’s contract was praised as the best value-for-money deal of the summer.
However, even with the free agency acquisitions, and the Mavs’ superstar duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the Mavs are still getting disrespected.
Mavs disrespectfully ranked third in the West after Finals appearance
On August 5, John Schuhmann from NBA.com released the Western Conference power rankings. He ranked the Mavericks as the third-best team, with the Oklahoma City Thunder taking the top spot and the Denver Nuggets coming in second.
The Thunder deserve to be the first seed because they were the top seed in the West last year, and had the MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander while also getting significantly better this offseason. But, being behind Denver, is disrespectful.
Denver got worse in the offseason by losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson. Sure, Denver did acquire Russell Westbrook, but Westbrook isn’t near his old MVP self. Nikola Jokic will turn 30 in February, and that is the age when the center position can start declining.
The Minnesota Timberwolves would be the only team that could be in conversations to be ahead of the Mavericks. Anthony Edwards is in full superstar mode and led the Timberwolves to their first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2004. The Timberwolves were fourth in the power rankings behind the Mavs.
The Mavericks beat the Timberwolves to reach the Finals, and also won all three road games in Minneapolis. But, the Timberwolves beat the Nuggets in the second round to play the Mavs. That’s disrespect thrown on Doncic, Irving, and the Mavs, but also the Timberwolves.
With the Mavs being ranked third below Denver, this can add more fuel for them to silence the critics this upcoming NBA season and prove to everyone that they are a powerhouse in the West. Doncic and Irving are just getting started, and their growing chemistry and on-court dominance in the duo has the potential to help Dallas reach the Finals once again next season.
