Injuries plague the Mavericks, leading to a disappointing season forecast and a potential high draft pick. Can Cooper Flagg turn things around?
The 2025-26 regular season has not been what the Dallas Mavericks wanted it to be so far through just over half of the year. And a lot of that has to do with a number of injuries to so many of the team's impactful players.
And while there have been some bright spots so far this season, the team's record by the end of the season is most likely going to be at least a bit disappointing.
In a recent article by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes, he makes a prediction for what every NBA team's record will be when the year is said and done. For the ailing Mavericks, he thinks they will end the season at a less-than-desirable 26-56.
"Cooper Flagg should be back shortly after you read this, which will at least make the Dallas Mavericks more watchable than they've been without their star rookie. Whether it makes them any better is a different question," Hughes writes. "A lengthy road trip lies ahead, and Dallas will be lucky to win more than once through the middle of March."
The team knew they would be without Kyrie Irving for most, if not all of this season after he suffered an ACL tear last season. But what they didn't know was that a host of other people would be sidelined at times, including Flagg.
Despite that, the Mavs have put up impressive performances in some games. But a lot of times it's the Cooper Flagg show in a loss, like the 123-121 defeat to the Charlotte Hornets despite the No. 1 overall pick scoring a career-high 49 points.
One of the words that some would use to describe this season for the Mavericks is underwhelming, because despite getting one of the best prospects in recent memory, the team will once again have a fairly high draft pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
With all of that being said, the Mavericks still have a fairly bright future as long as their 19-year-old superstar can stay on the court and can continue to improve on his already stellar play.