Masai Ujiri sat down for a video interview on the Mavericks app this week and closed it with a direct message to the fanbase. With the Draft Lottery on Sunday, the timing could not have been better.
The press conference was done. The cameras were mostly put away. Masai Ujiri sat down for a video interview on the Dallas Mavericks app and closed it with a message directly to the fanbase that has been through more turbulence in the last two years than most franchises see in a decade.
"Yes, to all the Maverick fans, first of all, thank you. Thank you for having me here, and thank you for giving me this unique opportunity. There is something special that's coming, and I hope to bring this and to be a part of it."
He did not stop there.
"I know what you've gone through. I know what we've had in the last few years, but when I look at your championship, we have to build from there. When I look at what we have on our team, everything to the players, coaches, personnel, everything that we have to evaluate and bring here to bring a championship, and to win Cooper Flagg, we will plant every flag around the world to bring a championship here in Dallas. Yeah, you fans deserve it. Everybody deserves it, and we will win. We'll win in Dallas."
That last line has become his signature since arriving. He said it at his introductory press conference. He said it again here. It is not a throwaway line.
Ujiri built a championship in Toronto from scratch and rebuilt that roster twice. He knows exactly what it takes, and he is not someone who makes promises he does not intend to keep.
The timing of those words matters. The 2026 offseason officially kicks off on Sunday when the NBA Draft Lottery takes place in Chicago.
Rolando Blackman takes the stage for Dallas while Ujiri watches from the building alongside Marc Licardi, who will be present in the drawing room.
One year ago the Mavericks walked out of that room with the No. 1 pick and a 1.8% chance. Sunday could be the first domino of Ujiri's tenure falling in the right direction.