The NBA released its full schedule for the 2022-23 season on Wednesday, and the Dallas Mavericks will open the season against the Phoenix Suns.
The Mavericks will travel to Phoenix on October 19, returning to the city for the first time since they won in a 33-point blowout in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
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Dallas will also play the Suns on December 5 (home), January 26 (away), and March 5 (home).
The January 26 game against the Suns will be a part of the NBA’s newly created “Rivals Week.”
The league scheduled 11 nationally televised games between January 24-28, featuring teams with historic rivalries, rematches from the playoffs, and an NBA Finals rematch.
In total, the Mavericks have 30 nationally televised games scheduled after finishing last season 52-30 for the 4th seed in the Western Conference.
Dallas was eliminated in the Conference Finals by the Golden State Warriors, who went on to win the NBA Finals. Golden State dominated Dallas in the rebound battle during their 4-1 series win, exposing the Mavericks’ lack of size and depth in the frontcourt.
The Mavericks added to the frontcourt in the offseason, trading for center Christian Wood from the Houston Rockets and signing fellow center Javale McGee in free agency.
Dallas will get their first chance to test their revamped frontcourt and seek revenge against the defending champion Warriors on November 29 at home. They will play Golden State again on February 4 (away) and March 22 (home).
Other notable games for the Mavericks include a Christmas Day home game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The game will be broadcast at 1:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
It is the third consecutive season the Mavericks will play during the league’s holiday showcase, but it is the first time they will play a home Christmas game since 2011.
Dallas’ three other games against the Lakers will also be nationally televised on January 12 (ABC, away), February 26 (ABC, home), and March 17 (NBA TV, away).
Two days after Christmas will mark the return of Jalen Brunson to the American Airlines Center. Brunson left the Mavericks and signed a four-year contract worth more than $100 million with the New York Knicks this offseason.
Brunson will already have faced his former team by then, as the Mavericks will make their annual trip to New York to play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on December 3.
Kristaps Porzingis, whom the Mavericks traded away in February to the Washington Wizards, will make his first return to Dallas on January 24.
Other notable aspects of the Mavericks’ schedule include that 11 of their first 16 games are at home and 10 of their last 16 games are on the road.
Dallas has three five-game road trips scheduled (January 8-15, February 4-11, and March 26-April 2). The Mavericks will also play 13 back-to-backs.
The Mavericks will be on the road for six of the seven games entering All-Star Weekend (February 17-19) in Salt Lake City, Utah. Then they will return from the All-Star break with a season-long streak of six consecutive home games (February 24-March 7).
The regular season will conclude for Dallas on April 9 with a home game against the San Antonio Spurs.
