The saying goes, “everything is bigger in Texas,” and that’s certainly the case in the NBA. For the first time since the 2015-16 season, all three Texas teams have a legitimate chance to make the postseason. The Lone Star State isn’t quite lonely, as each team houses prominent duos. But only one can pose the biggest threat.
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This past season, only the Houston Rockets clinched a postseason berth. The Dallas Mavericks were on pace but suffered a boatload of injuries, leading to an early exit in the Play-In Tournament.
This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as they jumped up to win the first overall pick, leading them to sign Cooper Flagg. The pairing of Anthony Davis and Flagg has now raised a great deal of excitement. Meanwhile, Houston hasn’t let itself fall behind either.
Their acquisition of Kevin Durant propels them among the league’s best teams. While the San Antonio Spurs did their major deal at the trade deadline last season, a full season of Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox does make their campaign more exciting than before.
San Antonio was on pace to secure one of the last Play-In spots last season before Wembanyama received his diagnosis for blood clots. Shortly after, Fox underwent season-ending surgery on his left pinkie finger, halting their progress.
“I want to see a healthy Wemby and De’Aaron Fox,” Former Spurs guard Danny Green said on ESPN’s First Take. “We never got a chance to get them at full strength last year.”
Spurs have also added the second overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, Dylan Harper to their numbers
The Spurs’ collection of young talent has left Green with an overwhelming sense of excitement. But they aren’t the only team with a great core of young stars.
“I’m going to go with Kevin Durant and Amen Thompson. The tiebreaker is, I think, they have the best team. I think they have the best situation in terms of being able to make a deep playoff run,” ESPN’s Tim McMahon argued.
Durant and Thompson may not be the best duo of the three, but their team situation is the best, according to McMahon. His expectations for them are higher since they have the tools to seriously compete for a championship.
Meanwhile, Brian Windhorst couldn’t come to a solid answer since all three teams have a multitude of variables that break them free from the constraint of a star duo. The Mavericks are the perfect example.
“This is not a duo situation, this is a trio,” Windhorst declared. “When Kyrie Irving gets healthy, we’re talking about Kyrie and Cooper Flagg and AD. That’s very powerful,” he said.
Green didn’t side with Windhorst because Flagg hasn’t proven himself, unlike the other players in the conversation. Nonetheless, he is extremely high on the Mavericks as a team at full strength.
“If healthy, I think Dallas could be the team to give OKC their toughest run. They could be one of the best teams in the West,” Green contended.
It’ll be interesting how things shape out between these Texas teams. The offseason will be an arms race between all three to put themselves in the best position ahead of the 2025-26 season.
