Mavericks Fan Vote Reveals MVP, Future Stars and the Team's Most Chaotic Personalities
The Dallas Mavericks came into the year with an oversized lineup bookended by Anthony Davis and rookie Cooper Flagg, who was slated to start at point guard. In theory, the team's collective size and defense would compensate for clunky spacing and the inevitable growing pains of its top prospect playing out of position.
That was a pretty good assessment of the squad whenever Davis was healthy, which was rare.
Ultimately, Dallas dealt Davis, watched Flagg figure out life in the NBA on the fly and morphed into a quiet tanker by season's end.
You helped us assess the Mavericks' 2025-26 campaign by handing out some hardware.
Stats accurate as of Saturday, April 9. Contract data via Spotrac.
Who Is the Most Valuable Player?
1 of 10
Winner: Cooper Flagg
Flagg led Dallas in total points, rebounds and assists, though two others—Naji Marshall and Max Christie joined him in playing at least 2,000 minutes.
In terms of importance to the team's operation, it was difficult to find anyone who topped Flagg. The rookie often ran the show without much help and had to expand his game substantially in the process. This was a bad Mavs offense that finished in the league's bottom five, and it's worth wondering how much worse things might have looked without Flagg taking on such a major role.
Who Is Most Underrated?
2 of 10
Winner: Brandon Williams
Ryan Nembhard came out of nowhere to help stabilize the point guard spot, while Daniel Gafford stepped into a void created by the Davis trade and Dereck Lively II's season-ending injury. Both occupied more significant roles than anyone would have expected coming into the season.
Christie, often flying below the radar, whot over 40.0 percent from deep with over 5.0 attempts per game, second only to all-time sniper Klay Thompson in terms of volume.
None of that mattered to the voters as much as Brandon Williams' unsung scoring contributions off the bench.
Who Is the Best Athlete?
3 of 10
Winner: Cooper Flagg
Flagg played all over the positional spectrum as a 6'9" teenager, which made him a pretty good candidate here. Gafford's above-the-rim finishing didn't impress voters. He'll finish as the team's easy No. 1 in total dunks, with PJ Washington coming in third behind Flagg in that category.
Moussa Cisse got into the mix as a sleeper candidate. Almost 40.0 percent of his field goals were slams.
Who Is Most Likely To Be a 1st-Time All-Star In the Next 5 Years?
4 of 10
Winner: Cooper Flagg
The surefire All-Rookie first-teamer played at nearly an All-Star level for good chunks of this season and has a pretty long runway ahead. He ran away with this one.
Lively appeared in just seven games, and he's arguably the next best choice. Nobody believed enough in his ability to stay healthy to choose him over Flagg. Good call, voters.
Who Has the Best Contract?
5 of 10
Winner: Cooper Flagg
Little went right for Dallas on the floor this season, but its books actually look pretty solid going forward. Kyrie Irving is due $39.5 million next season, but PJ Washington's $19.8 million is the second-biggest 2026-27 figure on the roster. Thompson's expiring $17.5 million isn't so bad either, even if the former All-Star is winding down his career.
The fact that Flagg is on a rookie-scale deal didn't bother voters at all. Fair enough. It's nice to only owe Nembhard an average of $1.2 million per year, but Flagg is already on the way to dramatically outperforming his first contract.
Who Has the Worst Contract?
6 of 10
Winner: Caleb Martin
Irving is the team's most established star, but he collected $36.6 million without playing a second this season and will earn $39.5 million next year. A $42.4 million player option looms in 2027-28, though an extension or an opt out seems likely. If he's a star upon returning, those dollars will probably be worth it. If he's not, well...they won't be.
Caleb Martin has two more years and a little under $20 million left after this one (player option in 2027-28). That's sub mid-level money, but the veteran forward averaged just 3.9 points per game and rates as something like the sixth best forward/wing on the roster. Ultimately, voters viewed Martin's smaller deal as much more damaging than Irving's larger one.
Who Is the Best Trash-Talker?
7 of 10
Winner: PJ Washington
I'm not sure any other Mavericks stared down two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, but maybe we missed a dirty look from Dwight Powell at some point. Until somebody unearths that video, and as long as we agree meaningful eye contact counts as trash talk, this was yet another category that could have gone to Flagg. Mark Cuban believed in the rookie's trash-talk chops way back in June.
Marshall brought the intensity, and Thompson offered his trademarked "I used to cook guys like you" chatter. In the end, Washington's fiery competitiveness and tendency to chirp earned him the win.
Who Is Most Likely To Have a Burner Account?
8 of 10
Winner: D'Angelo Russell
D'Angelo Russell once got into trouble for phone-related missteps, so he had an edge here after logging 26 games with the Mavs earlier this year. Other than him, the pickings were pretty slim.
Thompson is known for reading actual newspapers at his locker, so it was hard to imagine him exercising his Twitter fingers all that much. At the same time, he's always been very comfortable stepping into the role of "former great aggrieved by a perceived lack of respect" as he's aged.
Who Are You Taking With You Into the Zombie Apocalypse?
9 of 10
Winner: Naji Marshall
Flagg is versatile, resourceful and pathologically competitive, plus he seems able to learn new skills quickly. You can't overrate those qualities if you need to think on your feet during a zombie apocalypse. Kyrie Irving's elusiveness might also have come in handy.
Assuming you'd have to fight your way out of some tough scraps, Thompson's accuracy as a sniper and experience in high-pressure situations would be helpful.
All that said, Marshall's grit and attacking style earned him a solid win here.
Who Is Most Likely To Be Playing Overseas In 2 Seasons?
10 of 10
Winner: D'Angelo Russell
The Mavs dotted the roster with plenty of players on the fringes as they compensated for injuries and steered into the losing skid. Marvin Bagley III hasn't logged time as a pro outside of the US yet, but the former No. 2 overall pick has been on five teams in eight years and has the profile of someone who might prefer dominating in Turkey for a while.
Russell beat him out in a close vote that probably reflected Mavs' fans frustration with his play as much as anything else. D-Lo is close to running out of NBA teams who'll take a chance on him as a backup.
.png?w=600 "Predicting Every 2nd-Round Series 🔮")