By james art The start of the 2024-25 regular season for the Dallas Mavericks is just over 72 hours away, and fans can’t wait to see what the team looks like after a busy offseason of retooling the roster around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Doncic missing the entire preseason with a calf injury was one of the bigger stories coming out of Dallas training camp, and even though he missed the entire preseason, he’s been working out the last few sessions and appears to be trending toward Thursday night vs. San Antonio Spurs.
Irving held down the fort while Doncic was gone and looked excellent in both games he appeared in, and fans got to see what he and Klay Thompson look like when they share the court. Thompson’s preseason was full of highs and lows as he struggled from the field, but there were also some hot shooting stretches, and a recent quote from Irving shows why he was the perfect pickup for Dallas.
The chemistry and bond between the Mavs’ players helped them reach the NBA Finals last year, and it’s important to enjoy the company of those you go to work with every day. Thompson dived headfirst into this new journey with the Mavs by taking his new teammates on a boat trip to California, and his impact off the court and his impact as a teammate could prove to be just as big as his impact on the court.
“He just stays by himself, he loves his family, he loves what he does for a living, he loves helping people, he loves to travel,” Irving said of Thompson on Monday. “He’s generally a good guy. It’s a luxury we don’t take for granted to have that type of guy and that type of personality in our dressing room.”
Irving was one of the biggest recruiters that helped get Thompson to Dallas, and it’s clear every time he’s asked about him that he thinks highly of him as a player as well as a person. Irving’s relationships with his teammates and leadership on and off the court have been some of the many highlights of his time with Dallas so far, and Thompson seems like he’ll be a perfect fit, hearing about the type of person he is from someone who knows him well in Irving .
The players who succeed the most in Dallas are the ones who don’t have big egos and who embrace their role, and from what Irving said, it sounds like Thompson’s personality sets him apart. The Mavericks pride themselves on bringing in these types of players, and Thompson’s leadership should not be undermined this season.
Thompson seems like a great guy from everything his teammates and coaches have said about him over the last month or so, and it sets the stage for a great season for him in Dallas. Those who are successful in Dallas over multiple seasons tend to share that type of personality and demeanor, and any success on the court will be icing on the cake.