These are the results of The Athletic’s fifth annual Dallas Mavericks fan survey.
We received 2,029 responses, which is enough to turn this into an intriguing, semi-scientific data set from subscribers and more internet-inclined Maverick fans. There are always drawbacks to this survey methodology. Due to the nature of the polling, the respondents almost certainly skew younger than the Mavericks fan base at large. We didn’t hire a polling firm to call landlines or camp out in front of area Walmarts to reach people who otherwise would not have seen this survey. I’m sure there are other biases implicit within this type of internet-driven process. Nevertheless, it’s a useful gauge of how your feelings align with fellow enthusiasts.
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We’ve done this in each of the past four offseasons: 2023, 2022,2021, and 2020. Many of the questions are repeats, allowing us to measure this season’s results against past ones. I’ll reference those throughout when applicable.
An important note for understanding the survey methodology: For questions where the grading system is numbered 1 to 5, 1 is the least confident (or least favorable) and 5 is the most.
ABOUT YOUR FANDOM
When did you become a Mavericks fan?
This is a baseline-setting question that shows, as usual, that the survey respondents skew towards the 40-and-under demographic. Only 23 percent of respondents became fans of the team before Dirk Nowitzki’s arrival, although there are certainly older people who became fans because of Nowitzki. Admittedly, there wasn’t much to root for in the ’90s.
How many Maverick games did you watch in the 2023-24 regular season?
Individual fandom is solely the interpretation of each person who finds enjoyment in watching this team. That said, for an informed data set we can trust, I’m glad to see nearly 80 percent of the respondents watched at least half of the regular season.
How many Maverick games did you attend in the 2023-24 season?
It’s great to attend games if you can and so many justified reasons why many can’t.
Excluding the 2010-11 championship season, what was the best season in Dallas Mavericks history?
I’m sure there’s recency bias and newer fandom skewing these results. As one respondent said, “I wasn’t a fan or alive for the other (seasons).” That said, why shouldn’t this past season be the franchise’s second greatest? It was a Finals run where defeat was not as devastating as 2006, as well as the first without Nowitzki. Several people said the delight of outperforming media expectations contributed to why they chose this season. Others just loved the vibes after a miserable 2022-23 campaign.
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There were two common reasons given from those who chose the 2005-06 season: 1) the transcendent Game 7 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the semifinals, and 2) the 2011 championship helped heal the pain of the Finals defeat and associate more with the joy and greatness from that season. As one person wrote, “Game 7 vs. San Antonio is one of the best games I ever watched.” Some dinged the 2023-24 season out of fear for recency bias; others viewed the unexpected nature of the team’s 2024 Finals runs less impressive than the consistent dominance of that 2005-06 team. “The 2005-06 (Finals run) felt more of a season-long conquest than this past season’s, which had more of a lightning-in-a-bottle feel,” one respondent wrote.
Those who chose the 2002-03 season consistently named the Nowitzki-Steve Nash-Michael Finley trio as the reason why. “They were a Dirk knee sprain away from a ring that year,” one respondent said. I saw more participants choosing the 1987-88 season within the first 400 responses, which were submitted from subscribers to The Athletic — and probably skew older — before I put this survey onto social media. As one said, “The Mavericks rise in the ’80s was magical and Reunion Arena was electric. I don’t think today’s players or arenas can ever match that.” I didn’t witness that decade, but that’s a strong historical argument.
Some seasons named by respondents as honorable mentions or personal favorites: the 2021-22 season for its immaculate vibes; the 2018-19 season because it was Nowitzki’s last and Luka Dončić’s first; the 2006-07 campaign that featured the franchise’s most dominant regular season before a first-round failure; the 2003-04 season because there’s still some hipster joy for the Antoine Walker and Antwan Jamison duo; and the 2000-01 season that featured Nowitzki’s first playoff series win thanks to Calvin Booth’s unforgettable series winner. I appreciated that one person selected the 2013-14 season, when a delightful team of old veterans and fan favorites nearly upset the eventual champion Spurs in the first round.
Excluding Luka Dončić, who is your favorite current Mavericks player?
Before this season began, it would have been hard to fathom Kyrie Irving (25.8 percent) finishing anywhere but first for this question. That’s a testament to Dereck Lively II: his captivating on-court play, his infectious enthusiasm, his endearing sincerity, his incredible maturity despite the tragedy he’s already endured.
P.J. Washington (4.8 percent), Maxi Kleber (2 percent), and Dwight Powell (1.8 percent) were the next three finishers.
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What do you believe was the primary reason Cuban sold the team?
I typically don’t use this survey to ask fans questions that journalists should be responsible for answering. (For example, there are no questions about why Derrick Jones Jr. departed.) But Cuban has given two on-record answers about why he sold the team. First, he spoke about local broadcast rights and the need for other revenue streams. Lately, he has focused on his family and the idea that his children aren’t old enough to know whether they would want to take over the franchise in his place. (In fairness to Mark, he also spoke about the family dilemma when he initially sold the team; I believe it’s fair to say he emphasized the broadcast rights issue far more early on than he has as of late, especially after the league’s enormous national broadcast deal was inked.)
The truth to why he sold the team probably involves some combination of these factors. (Three of them, at least.) But I chose not to allow multiple selections; since no true prevailing narrative has emerged, I wanted to see what fans most believed the reason to be. The majority’s perception is that Cuban either needed the money or couldn’t sustain the level of spending required to remain majority owner.
In one word, how would you summarize Mark Cuban’s 24-year ownership of the Dallas Mavericks?
The five most common words: successful, good, team, fun, solid.
I also appreciated rollercoaster (25 responses), mixed (23), Dirk (16) and involved (nine). There were 12 people who simply responded Cuban, an understandable choice, because he and his 24 years in charge of the Mavericks are difficult to summarize in a single word. Loud (13) was another amusing one. My choice was Maverick, for better or worse, which surprisingly showed up just twice.
ABOUT YOUR CONFIDENCE
How favorable is your impression of Patrick Dumont and the team’s new ownership group within their basketball role?
It’s far too early in Patrick Dumont’s tenure to know for sure what he and his family will represent to the team’s on-court product. Still, I’d infer the 4s and 5s come from initial interviews — Dumont has not held a news conference since purchasing the Mavericks — when he indicated his willingness to spend. It may also come from the impression that the team had financial restrictions under Cuban, however accurate that may be.
How favorable is your impression of Patrick Dumont and the team’s new ownership group beyond the scope of basketball?
Pablo Torre, a notable and respected journalist, reported in June that the NBA required Dumont to serve as the team’s governor because his mother-in-law, Miriam Adelson, had politics too divisive to be the franchise’s figurehead. It seems some portion of the fan base, albeit far from a majority, agrees with that assessment.
How confident are you in Nico Harrison and the front office?
How has your confidence level in Nico Harrison’s front office changed over the past year?
Last summer, Harrison received mostly 4s (53 percent) with a spattering of 5s (13 percent). It seems he’s converted the cautious optimists and then some.
How much confidence do you have in Jason Kidd and his coaching staff?
How has your confidence level in Jason Kidd’s Mavericks coaching staff changed over the past year?
Kidd received a more measured confidence bump after last summer, when 55 percent of respondents chose 1s or 2s. It seems the fanbase is largely back in favor of Kidd as the head coach but hasn’t totally forgotten last season’s catastrophic results, for which he received much of the blame.
Rank these reasons, in order, that most influenced the Dallas Mavericks losing to the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals.
To simplify this chart: Boston’s more talented roster and the Dallas roster’s lack of talent were overwhelmingly chosen as two primary reason, in that order, for why Dallas lost in the Finals. Dončić’s health was seen as the least influential factor, and Irving’s ineffectiveness was most consistently seen as having the third-greatest impact.
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I’d also note the question’s wording: It asks why Dallas lost, not why the team lost in five games. Dončić and Irving being better might have extended the series, but the responses indicate that most fans believe Boston’s excellence and Dallas’ flaws would have always resulted in a series defeat.
How confident are you that the Mavericks can win a championship in the next five years?
Last summer, only 46 percent of respondents answered with either a 4 or 5 (more and most confident), while 23 percent answered with a 1 or 2. One Finals run later, the championship possibility certainly seems more palpable. No doubt, winning championships is the hardest thing to do in sports. But Dallas now has proof of concept, and that optimism is represented within the fanbase.
How confident are you that Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, when both are available, can be the two best players on a championship team?
There was a 17 percent jump in respondents answering 5, the most confident selection, from when this question was posed last summer.
How confident are you that Luka Dončić will remain in Dallas past the 2026 offseason?
Last summer, only 19 percent of the fan base had total confidence in Dončić staying past the summer in which he holds a player option to potentially become an unrestricted free agent Additionally, 15 percent of respondents answered with 1s and 2s, a measure of doubt which has almost completely disappeared this time around.
How confident are you that Luka Dončić will win MVP next season?
There’s measured optimism, as much as anyone can have given the unpredictability of the award. I also allowed for voters to elaborate on their answers, and this word cloud gives you a semi-accurate sense of the responses:
To summarize these responses: Most fans believe Dončić deserved it last season, and many feel like the narrative’s now in his favor after his team’s run to the Finals. We’ve seen the MVP award arguably run one year behind results for the past several seasons, and what Dončić deserved last season, fans say, is what he’ll get this coming year. But it’s hard: He has to be healthy, the Western Conference is brutally difficult and each season provides multiple legitimate candidates that cases can be built around.
ABOUT THE TEAM
How successful has the Mavericks’ 2024 offseason been?
Amusingly, 4 was the most common response last summer, too, at 69 percent. It was probably correct, too, albeit for none of the reasons we thought.
How confident are you that the offensive upgrade of Klay Thompson’s addition will make up for the defensive downgrade of Derrick Jones Jr.’s departure?
When given the choice to elaborate, many dinged the question’s phrasing, believing Naji Marshall and Tim Hardaway Jr. should have been included as additions and subtractions. But overall, I’d describe these results as measured optimism.
Here’s one response for each confidence level:
- 5: “Because he’s Klay. He’s that dude.”
- 4: “The addition of Marshall has to be factored in here.”
- 3: “I’m not sure anyone really knows what Thompson has left, even himself.”
- 2: “Who’s guarding lead guards and quick wings in this starting five?”
- 1: “I don’t trust Klay.”
Who will be the Mavericks’ third-best player next season?
Lively’s earned this.
Which of the following non-Dončić, non-Irving players are you confident can play 20-plus effective minutes in an NBA Finals game?
This is a slight modification to a question we’ve repeated for several editions of this survey. In the past, I worded this one as such: “Which of the following non-Dončić, non-Irving players do you have confidence in playing 25-plus effective minutes in a competitive playoff game?” But last season’s Finals run brings higher expectations, which led to this year’s more demanding phrasing. As we covered earlier, the roster’s lack of talent — which was represented in not having enough players trusted to play 20-plus minutes — was seen as one of the largest reasons for the five-game series defeat to Boston.
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Interestingly, only three players received the fans’ overwhelming trust: Lively, Washington, and Thompson. Two more, Daniel Gafford and Naji Marshall, were given cautious optimism. I was surprised to see Dante Exum, arguably the team’s best bench player excluding Lively during the Finals despite his limited usage, that low. No doubt, this survey proves there’s plenty of belief and satisfaction in the team’s offseason and next season’s ambitious. Consider this question to be a reminder that there are still expectations to be met.
Do you believe the coaching staff will start Klay Thompson in every game he’s available?
How many games do you believe Klay Thompson should be in the closing lineup?
Let’s address these two Klay Thompson questions together: The fan base is divided about whether the coaching staff can convince Thompson into a smaller role, but most agree he should not be a guaranteed cog in the team’s closing lineups even if he appears more often than not. One implication of the first question’s results: There’s a sizable subset of fans who either feel 1) Kidd and his coaching staff won’t believe Thompson should start every game, and/or 2) they believe Thompson shouldn’t necessarily be a starting lock. This is the storyline for next season that most intrigues me, and the mixed responses only add interest.
(One note on the second question: I asked respondents to assume that Thompson would be available for all 82 games and every one of them would be close in the final minutes. Obviously, that won’t happen. But using those hypotheticals made it easier to convey how you felt.)
How many games do you believe the Mavericks will win next season?
Dallas won 50 games last season despite sitting just three games over .500 (26-23) with just under 50 games played. There’s confidence the team will improve on that next season, although it might only be marginal given how difficult the Western Conference will be.
Also, one sidebar: Online surveys are always susceptible to trolling or other internet hijinks, but there wasn’t even a single response that selected 45 wins or fewer. It gives me confidence this survey was overwhelmingly taken in good faith.
What postseason result is required for next season to be considered successful?
This question also depend on each respondent’s personal definition of success. In past surveys, some have elaborated that the only successful season is one that ends with a ring. Fair enough!
Feel free to share what you’re most looking forward to this coming season.
Here’s one final word cloud summarizing nearly 1,000 responses to this question.
One theme stood out from these words: growth (71 mentions), development (63), continued (23), chemistry (22), leap (21), improvement (19). Many answers using those words specifically assigned them to Lively (175 mentions), who actually received slightly more mentions than Klay (172). But many more such responses included the entire team’s ability to build on what they started after last season’s trade deadline.
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Another theme: offense (42), shooting (38), spacing (15). And, similarly, there was many mentions of additions (25), depth (14), lineups (10) and core (10). Everyone wants to know how the new additions to this roster mesh with what Dallas has already established.
But among every response, Luka (260) was easily the most common word. He’s the common denominator for this franchise’s re-ascendency, the driving force for all that excites the fan base, the reason that joy has bubbled up within the Mavericks fan base at every level. Where he goes, the franchise does, too.
(Top photo: Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)
