Stephen A. Smith shockingly backs Mavericks to win NBA title if two things happen

The 2025-26 NBA season already appears to be one for the ages. As defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder will only get better. The Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, and Houston Rockets have all significantly retooled this offseason as well. It's hard to say who will win it all.

Several teams will consider themselves to be dark horse contenders. Despite having picked up Cooper Flagg in the 2025 Draft, most fans wouldn't put the Dallas Mavericks in as one of them. However, Stephen A. Smith thinks they can win it all if a few conditions are met.

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“If Anthony Davis, if Kyrie Irving is healthy and AD brings his A game, the Dallas Mavericks will win the NBA championship,” Smith said. “That’s a big if. It’s fluid; it can change. But it’s legit, and everybody knows it. Because the one thing we’re not going to say about AD is that the brother can’t play.”

Considering that Irving is likely to miss at least half of the regular season due to his ACL injury, this is an extremely bold take from Smith. Dallas certainly has the size and the roster flexibility to make a run, but relying on AD and Kyrie to peak at the same time is a risky bet to make.

Technically, Smith can say that he isn't wrong. However, everything will have to align perfectly for this to happen. Should the Mavericks manage to win a championship in the coming season, though, it would certainly flip the script on how they are perceived following the Luka Doncic trade.

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