Marcus Sasser Expected to Make Mavericks Debut in Hometown Against Hawks

Marcus Sasser has sat out all three of the Dallas Mavericks' preseason games with left adductor tightness. After practice Thursday, Mavericks coach Dusty May said that should change Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks at American Airlines Center.

"We anticipate Sass will play a little bit tomorrow," May said.

Friday is the final preseason game for both teams. Sasser missed both of Dallas' games against the Houston Rockets in Macao, on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11, and then sat out Wednesday's 101-97 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The past few weeks have been up and down for Sasser, though good overall.

"I just slipped in practice and kinda overstretched it, but I'm good," Sasser said.

While he was out, he kept learning the offense and the defense, and he stayed on the court to get shots up.

Dallas acquired Sasser from the Detroit Pistons on July 8 in a six-team trade. He is in the final season of his rookie-scale contract.

Born in Dallas, Sasser graduated from Red Oak High School in 2019 and played four seasons at the University of Houston for coach Kelvin Sampson. In 2022-23, he was the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American. He also won the Jerry West Award that season.

The Memphis Grizzlies drafted him 25th overall in 2023, and his rights went to Detroit on draft night. Over three seasons with the Pistons, Sasser averaged 7.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 15.8 minutes across 166 games.

Last season, he played 38 games and averaged 5.2 points in 12.0 minutes. He made 41.5% of his 3-point attempts. He also appeared in six playoff games for Detroit.

On April 12, 2024, as a rookie, Sasser scored 24 points at American Airlines Center in a 107-89 Pistons win over Dallas.

At media day, he said playing at home puts an extra chip on his shoulder. His mother and family are excited to see him out there Friday, and he expects a good crowd.

"It's basketball, and I'm playing in my hometown. It's fun, if anything," Sasser explained.

"It's kind of like a dream come true — like you're playing in your backyard and it being an extra chip on your shoulders," Sasser continued. "But you also know you've got confidence, because you've got the people in the crowd that you went to school with or you've got your family here. It gives you another extra layer of confidence and motivation."

Since camp opened, May has praised Sasser's cutting and his effort on defense. Sasser sees himself as a guard who pushes the pace, spaces the floor, and makes plays.

"I feel like I'm a good fit with the pieces that we have on this squad," Sasser said. "I love our team. I feel like we've got a lot of guys that play for one another and always got each other's back."

"We're fast [and] long," Sasser continued. "We just got a lot of the right pieces that fit together and we're going to continue to build our chemistry as the season go, and I think we're going to do really well."

Dallas went 26-56 last season and hired May in June.

Kyrie Irving played Oct. 11 in Macao for the first time since March 2025, when he tore his ACL. He scored a team-high 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Cooper Flagg averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists across the two games in Macao.

Both sat out Wednesday to rest. May has called Friday's game a dress rehearsal for the regular season, and Mavs.com reported that Irving and Flagg will start.

The Hawks took Kingston Flemings eighth overall in June out of Houston, where he played the 2025-26 season for Sampson.

Through four preseason games, Flemings has started twice. His best night came in his hometown of San Antonio, where he scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in 20 minutes off the bench. He has also credited center Jock Landale with making his job easier on defense.

Sasser has not had a chance to talk to Flemings yet.

"I'm really excited to play against him," Sasser said. "I really haven't got to talk to him yet, but it's always fun when the Houston guys are on the court together."

Atlanta is 3-1 in the preseason. The Hawks open the regular season Oct. 21 at Orlando.

Santi Aldama has not played for Dallas yet either. He came over in the same July 8 trade. An arthroscopic procedure on his right knee March 17 ended his last season with Memphis, where he averaged 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 43 games.

Aldama was limited when training camp opened in late September, and he sat out all three preseason games.

May said he does not expect Aldama to play Friday but that the forward is getting much, much closer.

"With these things there's so many different protocols to get them back to where they're playing without risking further [injuring] himself," May explained. "I know that he's much better today than he was yesterday and his trajectory is improving. Will he be ready in a week? There's a possibility."

Moussa Cissé started at center Wednesday and slightly tweaked his left ankle in the first half. He did not practice Thursday.

Dallas matched an offer sheet Cissé signed with the New York Knicks this summer. As a rookie last season, he averaged 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 13.9 minutes.

"I think if we had a game today he would have been able to play," May said. "They'll check swelling. Especially with exhibition games, we're not going to put a guy out there that could risk further injury because it's such a long season."

Morez Johnson Jr., the ninth overall pick in June, missed Wednesday with right shin splints. May said Johnson is really close.

Tip-off Friday is set for 7 p.m. CT, with the game on KFAA-29 and MavsTV+ and the radio call on 105.3 The Fan.

The Mavericks open the regular season Oct. 21 at Houston, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. CT.