Dallas Mavericks Reveal 2026 Preseason Schedule, Including Two International Games

The Dallas Mavericks are in a new era led by an entirely new front office and head coach. Masai Ujiri has taken over as the team president, Mike Schmitz is the new general manager, and Dusty May will lead them from the sidelines after winning a national championship at Michigan last year.

We're still a way away from the regular season schedule being announced, but the Mavericks have gone ahead and announced their preseason schedule, putting it out on Wednesday morning.

They'll play the Houston Rockets twice, first on October 9th, then again on October 11th. Both of those games will be played at The Venetian Arena in Macau, China, which is owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corp., owned by the Mavericks' owners.

That will be a great opportunity to help build a fanbase, and it'll help that they'll be going against the Houston Rockets, who China was displeased with after some comments from previous team president Daryl Morey. Yao Ming used to play for the franchise, though, and he may try to soften that relationship.

The countdown to Mavs basketball begins ⏳@ticketmaster // #MFFL pic.twitter.com/GsTuCArVUp
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) July 22, 2026

Those will be hard to watch for Mavs fans, as those games will be at 7 a.m. CST and 5 a.m. CST, respectively.

After that, they'll be playing two games in the American Airlines Center.

First will be against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 14th at 7 p.m. CST, then against the Atlanta Hawks on October 16th at 7 p.m. CST to close it out.

That will likely set the start of the regular season for between October 20th and 22nd, and it's just going to depend on the first matchup the NBA wants to give the Mavs.

Jun 29, 2026; Dallas, TX, USA; New Dallas Mavericks’ head coach Dusty May answers questions from the media during an introductory press conference at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Things to Watch for Mavericks Preseason

While we're still a few months away from the preseason, there will be plenty of things to watch out for.

The first is just what scheme they'll be running. It's a new coaching staff, and Dusty May has never coached in the NBA before, so how he decides to operate this team will be fascinating.

Dereck Lively II's health will be something to monitor, as his status is completely unknown. We know he's out of the walking boot and walking around, but how close he is to being back in playing shape after foot surgery in December has been kept quiet for now.

Morez Johnson's fit alongside Cooper Flagg is one of the biggest questions of the offseason. They selected him 9th overall despite glaring needs in the backcourt, but they think his defensive versatility in the frontcourt can help them with where the game is going.

Kyrie Irving's health will also be watched. He's been out since March of 2025 with a torn ACL, and even if he doesn't play in the preseason, getting updates on his health will be huge.

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