So it’s time to dream.
The month of August is typically a dead period when players, coaches and executives have a moment to exhale, even if they still are thinking about their to-do lists for the coming season and trying not to get too fat-and-happy after last season.
When September hits in a few days, we will all be able to say that the season starts next month and we can all start salivating. And hoping. And dreaming.
For some, like the Mavericks, the dreams are a little more meaty than they’ve ever been after a trip to the NBA Finals in June, when they ran into a Boston Celtics team that was on a mission.
After biting into a tasty playoff run like 2024, the Mavericks are entitled to think even bigger. Their appetite is appropriately whet. With an older, wiser team and a flashy new addition in Klay Thompson, the Mavericks have a potentially glorious season in front of them.
With that in mind, we’re going to get in the championship spirit and pinpoint 10 regular-season games that we can’t wait to see. These will be the juiciest slices of a Wagyu beef kind of season.
SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 24 – Of course we are going to have Opening Night on this list. And not just because it will be Thompson’s debut as a Maverick. It’s when we also will see how San Antonio looks in Victor Wembanyama’s second season and with the addition of veterans Harrison Barnes and Chris Paul. There will be a lot of subplots going on in this game. It’s also the first time since 2019 that the Mavericks’ first game of the season is at American Airlines Center.
AT MINNESOTA, Oct. 29 – We don’t normally get amped up about early season games, but the first rematch of the Western Conference finals is different. In fact, there are several spicy games in the first month of the season. The game at Minnesota will feature a Wolves team that already was terrific at the three-point game and added sharpshooters Joe Ingles and rookie Rob Dillingham. The Wolves, Thunder and Nuggets figure to be the top threats to unseat the Mavericks in the West.
AT GOLDEN STATE, Nov. 12 – For 11 seasons, Thompson was a hero with the Warriors. 
Fans in the Bay Area adored him and his magnetic personality. They even liked that he would occasionally take his boat out on the bay like any other regular dude. He loves the “Nordic Knife” as he calls it (“Splash Express” is the secondary name). So it will be a terrific and emotional night when he and the Mavericks arrive at Chase Center for the first time.
AT DENVER, Nov. 22 – There’s a sliver of the population that believes the Mavericks got a free ride to the NBA Finals last spring by avoiding the Nuggets. But the truth of the matter is that in the past three seasons, the Mavericks are 5-5 against the Nuggets in the regular season. And in all three of those seasons, one of these teams reached the West finals and twice they were in the NBA Finals. The Nuggets, of course, won it all in 2023. This one will be a nice early season yardstick for both teams.
OKLAHOMA CITY, Jan. 17 – This will be game No. 42, which means it will start the official second-half of the season. And to do it against the team that many believe is Dallas’ chief competition to rule the West again is a treat for fans. The Thunder have one of the few rivals to Luka Dončić in the MVP conversation in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren will have some perimeter help defensively with the addition of Alex Caruso, who the Thunder got ostensibly to help Luguentz Dort against the backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Dončić. The teams also meet again six days later in OKC.
BOSTON, Jan. 25 – This will be the first of two rematches in a 15-day span between the teams that met for the NBA championship in June. There will be no revenge motive for the Mavericks. Nothing, and especially not a regular-season meeting, can make up for losing the 
title to the Celtics. But it will generate a lot of excitement nonetheless and by that point in the season, we’ll have a good handle on whether either or both of these teams has any sort of inside track toward a Finals return.
GOLDEN STATE, Feb. 12 – This will be the only visit of the season to Dallas by Thompson’s former team, unless they are added in the extra two NBA Cup games that will be decided in December. The dynasty that won four championships in eight seasons, the last in 2022, has begun to unravel. Thompson now is in Dallas and his Splash Brothers partner Steph Curry, while still formidable, won’t go on forever. It will be interesting to see how the Warriors retool. And if this is one of the last visits for Curry’s band of Warriors, then it should be enjoyed.
PHILADELPHIA, March 16 – Why Philadelphia? Because not many teams are more interesting if for no other reason than the way they keep trying to find the magic potion around Joel Embiid. They went through Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Markelle Fultz, James Harden and Buddy Hield. Now they have maneuvered for Paul George and Eric Gordon to pair with Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. It’s never dull with the Sixers, which will make their only visit to AAC a can’t-miss noon affair.
ATLANTA, April 2 – I know what you’re thinking. Atlanta? What the heck? Why would they be must-see basketball in the final days of the regular season. Their year may be toast long before this. Ah, but maybe not. Plus, we can only hope that they have something to play for because it’s always fun to see Trae Young and it would be our first look at No. 1 draft pick Zaccharie Risacher. Also, by then, hopefully we’ve all learned how to spell and pronounce the Frenchman’s name.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS, April 9 – Now, it’s become an annual event. LeBron James is one of the best players ever. Maybe the best, depending on your viewpoint. But remember. Father Time is undefeated. Someday, James will hang it up. He will be 40 years old on Dec. 30. Whether or not it’s his last trip into AAC or not, treasure the opportunity to see the graybeard. He’s been a privilege to watch and write about for more than two decades.
