Dallas, TX
ESPN Personality Has Mavericks as a Top Five Team in NBA
ESPN personality Brian Windhorst recently did his NBA team rankings, and the defending Western champion Dallas Mavericks were amongst his top five entering the 2024-25 season. The other teams on the list were not surprising.
The defending champion Boston Celtics took the top spot in the ranking after a dominant season and five-game Finals victory over Dallas. Given they return all of their key players essentially, Boston’s spot as the top team in the NBA will remain unchanged until further notice.
Second is the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose addition of Alex Caruso in the offseason in exchange for Josh Giddey as well as their signing of Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein makes them a formidable opponent in the West.
READ MORE: Who Would The Mavericks Protect In An Expansion Draft?
Coming in third is the Denver Nuggets, who just re-signed guard Jamal Murray to a 4-year, $208 million max extension to keep their corps together. Despite losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the offseason, center Nikola Jokic still looms large as one of the best players in the league.
In fourth place is the team Dallas defeated in the Western Conference Finals, the Minnesota Timberwolves, whose corps of Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Naz Reid gives them a great chance to once again make a run at the title.
Fifth is the Dallas Mavericks, with the star-laden backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving will once again help the team compete for a chance to repeat as the best team in the West.
There are a few interesting things about this list. The first is that four of the five teams on the list are from the Western Conference, even though the defending champion Celtics hail from the East. The fact that Dallas defeated two of the four teams ahead of them during their playoff run last season also stands out because it demonstrates that the Mavericks’ run was no fluke.
It is a bit surprising that Dallas isn’t higher on the list, but it’s still a good sign that they’re getting some level of respect after last year’s performance. Hopefully, the Mavericks end up higher on the postseason rankings.
READ MORE: NBA Experts Predict Contract Extensions For Mavericks Guards
Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA Offseason
Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Keenan Womack on Twitter.
Dallas, TX
2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule officially announced
Behold the 2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule.
We knew coming into Thursday that the Cowboys would be on the road to take on the New York Giants in the season opener on Sunday Night Football, that Dallas is “hosting” the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil in Week 3, and that the Philadelphia Eagles would be in town for Thanksgiving Day. Now we know it all.
Among the first things that jump to mind is that bye week is late. Dallas isn’t on bye until Week 14, the Sunday of that week is December 13th for full perspective.
The Cowboys also only play twice in their own building, thanks to the Brazil game, before November. Sometimes those weird quirks show up in schedules and this is certainly one of them.
It is interesting to see that the NFL gave Dallas the longest amount of rest possible after their Thanksgiving tilt. It hasn’t been uncommon for the league to have the Cowboys play on consecutive Thursdays, but perhaps that is a thing of the past.
Dallas, TX
Dallas Approves $180,500 for New Botham Jean Boulevard Street Signs
Flashit Photography
On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved funding that will replace highway exit signs and road signs marking Lamar Street with new signage honoring Botham Jean, the 26-year-old Dallas accountant who was fatally shot in his own apartment by an off-duty Dallas police officer in 2018.
The $180,500 in funding for 13 signs to be installed by the Texas Department of Transportation is the final step in the street renaming that was unanimously approved by the council in 2021. The new signs will be placed at exits along Interstate 45, State Highway 310 and U.S. Highway 175.
Already, Botham Jean Boulevard signs run along the road in the Cedars, where Jean lived before he was killed.
“This street on which he chose to live and the street on which he died can serve as a lasting memory of the upstanding resident who loved Dallas so much,” his mother, Allison Jean, told the council in 2021.
Jean was shot by Amber Guyger, a Dallas police officer, after she entered his apartment believing it was her own. A Dallas jury found Guyger guilty of murder in 2019 and sentenced her to 10 years in prison. She has also been ordered to pay the Jean family nearly $100 million in a civil trial, which accused her of using excessive force.
The Jean family is seeking restitution from the city of Dallas because they argue that Dallas, as Guyger’s former employer, had a duty to defend Guyger and pay out claims brought against her. The Jean family filed suit against the city in April of this year.
On Wednesday, city council member Adam Bazaldua stated that the continued remembrance of Jean’s name is a reminder that “no one is above the law.”
“This has never simply been about changing street signs; it has always been about commemorating a life that was taken too soon,” said Bazaldua. “When driving down Botham Jean Boulevard, we are reminded of the thousands of lives lost across the country each year to senseless gun violence.”
Bazaldua said that once city leaders were made aware that some signs from the initial 2021 street name change had not materialized, the horseshoe took steps to correct the oversight “somewhat promptly.” But he acknowledged that Wednesday’s funding came on the heels of community advocacy urging the project’s completion.
Community leader Yafeuh Balogun said his organization, Community Movement Builders, began asking the city for the updated signs in September 2025. Addressing the council ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Balogun encouraged the horseshoe to vote in favor of the funds because it “would make no sense” to not follow through with the street renaming approved years ago.
“I think this is very powerful simply because driving here today, I still saw the Lamar Street Signs,” Balogun said. “I remember how powerful it was back in 2021 when the city council voted to rename Lamar Street to Botham Jean. I’d like to keep that legacy going.”
Dallas, TX
World Cup volunteers receive uniforms, new tickets released
We’re less than a month out from the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and North Texans volunteering in the event have received their uniforms. FOX 4’s Peyton Yager has more on that and the new hospitality tickets released today.
-
World7 minutes agoIsrael-Lebanon talks held in Washington as expiration of ceasefire nears
-
News37 minutes agoThe Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded
-
New York2 hours agoMystery Grows Around Representative Thomas Kean Jr.’s Absence
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoMillions of dollars worth of counterfeit luxury goods found in downtown L.A. bust
-
Detroit, MI3 hours ago3 things to love about Lions 2026 schedule
-
San Francisco, CA3 hours agoTrump derangement syndrome: San Francisco can’t let baseball be baseball
-
Dallas, TX3 hours ago2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule officially announced
-
Miami, FL3 hours agoTua Tagovailoa will return to Miami for preseason contest against Dolphins