The Dallas Mavericks recently finished the regular season with a record of 50 wins and 32 losses. However, fans are more excited about the team's upcoming playoff matchup against their long-time rival, the LA Clippers. When the rivals meet on Sunday, it will mark the third official time in five seasons that fans will watch a first-round series between the Clippers and Mavs.
Things didn't go Dallas' way in the first two games, but considering Kawhi Leonard's injury, this could be the Mavericks' best chance to beat the Clippers. Furthermore, while Dallas finished the regular season with a 16-4 record in their last 20 games, the Clippers struggled to maintain that same record after the All-Star break.
As the basketball world's attention shifts to the upcoming NBA Playoffs, Team USA recently announced its 12-man roster for this summer's 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Despite winning two gold medals at the 2014 FIBA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, Kyrie Irving's name was conveniently omitted from the 12-man roster. Irving has expressed his desire to play for Team USA in the past, but it looks like that dream of his will not become a reality.
When asked about not being selected for the USA team, Irving said: “I wanted to play (on the USA team)…I just didn't fit in with this team…I grew up in an era where you had to really try.” Joining USAB, we had meet-ups as a group and as friends. But we all gained mutual respect by trying things out and seeing what worked well for the five of us…”
Kyrie Irving on not being selected to represent the United States in the 2024 Olympics:
“I wanted to play (for Team USA)…I just didn't fit in with this team…I grew up in an era where you actually had to try out for USAB, and we as a group, as guys, We had a meet-up there, and it was mutual… pic.twitter.com/4QKhCVcKw8
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) April 18, 2024
Irving went on to say that his biggest priority now is to compete for another NBA championship. With the playoffs looming, this will be music to the ears of fans who know Irving is 100 percent locked in for the next playoff series against the Clippers.
Of course, Irving would have been a fun addition to America's roster, but it's good to hear he's completely focused on winning a championship again. Irving played second fiddle alongside Luka Doncic and played a big role in the Mavericks' success this season.
The Mavericks' path to the Western Conference Finals became exponentially easier at the end of the regular season, and it will be important for Doncic and Irving to play their best brand of basketball against the Clippers.
Stay tuned for more updates on Kyrie Irving and Dallas Mavericks basketball.
