Before the doors of the American Airlines Center opened on Sunday morning, thousands of fans lined up to see the Dallas Mavericks perform in their annual Fan Jam.
It was the first appearance for the Mavericks since their Game 4 win over the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, although they ultimately lost the series. With offseason additions like Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Quentin Grimes, over 12,000 fans were excited to witness the new-look Mavs.
A.J. Lawson led all scorers with 23 points, while Dereck Lively II tallied 20 points, 11 rebounds, and several impressive dunks. However, the Mavericks’ main stars—Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson—did not play. Dončić, recovering from a calf contusion, coached the Blue team, while Irving coached the White team.
Marshall expressed awe at the large fan turnout for the 40-minute scrimmage, saying: “I’ve had a lot of open practices and I’ve never seen that many fans. It was exciting to play in front of those guys.” Marshall contributed 19 points, seven rebounds, and five assists and orchestrated two alley-oop passes to Lively, including an off-the-glass lob.
Marshall added: “I’m throwing lobs to big Lively and watching (Grimes) shoot it and knowing Klay is on the bench. Luka is coaching one team and Kyrie is coaching the other is still amazing to me.”
Lively showcased his skill with nine dunks, finishing 10-of-14 from the field. Jaden Hardy also impressed, recording 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
The Blue team saw Jazian Gortman score 17 points and Olivier-Maxence Prosper add 12 points and six rebounds. Even Mavs player development coach God Shammgod briefly played, registering an assist before returning to the bench.
The White team got contributions from Emanuel Miller (17 points), Quentin Grimes (16 points), and Daniel Gafford (15 points, eight rebounds). Grimes wowed fans with a self-assisted dunk off the backboard.
Fans repeatedly chanted “We Want Klay” throughout the event. Marshall said, “I would have been chanting, too, if I was a fan, for sure. But he’s holding it down and he’ll be here soon.”
As for his own performance, Marshall noted, “When I’m working with shooters, bigs, or great wings, I’m just so excited. They put me in an unbelievable position to make plays.”
After the scrimmage ended, Dončić managed to sink a full-court shot, prompting Marshall to praise his coaching: “Unbelievable. We were up by 30. I think he did a pretty good job.”
