Ever since Dirk Nowitzki joined the Dallas Mavericks in 1998, the organization has made one thing clear: they like European players. However, during the Nico Harrison era from 2021-25, he progressively departed from Euro players. When he joined the team, there were as many as six guys from European countries. But by the time he left, there were none to be found.
This is something that always heavily bothered Mavs fans and insiders about Harrison. After all, the team made a name for itself as the Euro-capital of the NBA in the 2000s and 2010s. Of course, they housed stars like Dirk and Luka Doncic. But they also had guys such as J.J. Barea, Maxi Kleber, Kristaps Porzingis, and many more. Here's what Jeffrey Cooperstein said on Mavericks today about the European influence.
“When you think of European basketball players in the NBA, you think of the Mavericks. Nico Harrison departed from that completely, got rid of all the European players and influence on this team… The Mavericks are always going to have a European influence, and Masai Ujiri made sure that was the case this offseason.”
Masai Ujiri is bringing Europe back to Dallas
Ever since taking over as team president at the beginning of May, Mavericks president Masai Ujiri hasn’t been afraid to make changes to the Mavs. One of those changes has been resupplying the franchise with four European players. Santi Aldama (Spain), Sergio de Larrea (Spain), Vsevolod Ishchenko (Russia), and Tarik Biberovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
The most well-known of the group is definitely Aldama. He’s spent his first five seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, developing into a versatile stretch big man. He’s seven feet tall and has shot 35 percent from three during his career. But he doesn’t offer much on the defensive end.
The rest of the group is mostly unknown and has a lot to prove in the NBA. But perhaps the most exciting of the three is Biberovic, who Ujiri picked up alongside Aldama in a 6-team trade this offseason. The Euroleague star averaged 12.3 points over 25 games for Fenerbahce in Turkey. He also shot a scorching 48.9% from three and 50.2% from the field overall. At 25, he could be ready to take on NBA minutes immediately.
Both de Larrea and Ishchenko profile more as multi-year projects. But the potential is high for both. NBA.com wrote in their pre-draft projections that they saw shades of Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey in de Larrea. They also likened Ischenko to Orlando Magic star Franz Wagner.
At the end of the day, Ujiri’s plan is starting to take shape for all to see. He clearly wants to be more versatile on both ends of the court, while taking lottery tickets on high-potential European players. It’s what the Mavs built their identity around for years before Harrison, and the former Executive of the Year wants to get back to those ways.
Harrison's Mavericks clearly lost loyalty after the Doncic trade, but the foundation of the Mavericks' past success was developing the best Euro talent. Hopefully, now, Dusty May can make that magic happen again.
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