The Dallas Mavericks have their schedule for next season, and one matchup stands out above the rest.
Entering the 2025-26 season, the Mavericks are set for their first full season after trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. While they already knew Cooper Flagg would drive them to some matchups on the NBA’s marquee dates, the Mavericks now know what the rest of the season will hold after the NBA released the entire schedule for next season on Thursday afternoon.
Naturally, the biggest games on the Mavericks’ slate will be their matchups against the Lakers and their former star. Also allowing Anthony Davis to face the team he won a title with, every Mavericks-Lakers matchup is sure to have plenty of viewers.
The teams now forever intertwined by last season’s shocking trade are set to match up four times next season, beginning with an NBA Cup matchup in Los Angeles on Nov. 28. However, Dallas fans will have to wait until Jan. 24 to again welcome Doncic back to Texas when the teams face off for the second time.
The other Mavericks-Lakers matchups are set for Feb. 12 in Los Angeles and April 5 back in Dallas. Considering all of the drama that has unfolded around the trade and now Doncic’s reported offseason transformation, the Mavericks will need to get some wins against the Lakers to prove they made the right call.
As both teams will be fighting for positioning in a loaded Western Conference, these will be some of the most meaningful matchups of the season, but Doncic’s second game as an opponent in Dallas in January might be the most anticipated on the Mavericks’ schedule.