Dallas Mavericks Rookie Teased As NBA Summer League's Best Passer

The Dallas Mavericks are moving towards the next phase of the offseason following a week in Las Vegas for the 2026 NBA Summer League.

The five exhibition games provided the Mavericks with an opportunity to evaluate their incoming draft picks and younger members of the roster, such as second-year guard Ryan Nembhard.

Of the four selections last month, there's a ton of intrigue surrounding Sergio De Larrea, and not just because he's an international prospect like Luka Doncic. After playing professionally since he was 17, De Larrea already has experience under his belt, even if the transition to the NBA will be a little different.

De Larrea put his skills on display at the summer league despite wrapping up a Liga ACB championship run with Valencia Basket less than four weeks ago.

Coming out of Vegas, it's evident that the Mavericks could use a player who can facilitate like De Larrea, though scoring is still a work in progress.

Sergio De Larrea Named Best Passer At NBA Summer League

De Larrea emerged as a passer during the back half of Dallas' slate. In his first two appearances, he totaled 9 assists to 5 turnovers.

Thrown into more ball-handling duties against the Memphis Grizzlies, De Larrea responded with a summer league franchise record 12 assists. He followed that up with an even better performance, dropping 14 dimes to just 3 turnovers in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Overall, De Larrea averaged 8.8 assists to 4 turnovers over his four outings. He showed off a legitimate ability to command an offense, connecting on some creative passes to set other players up for easy buckets.

De Larrea did enough to be deemed the best passer in the Sin City this summer, according to The Athletic's Sam Vecenie.

"The best passer I saw at summer league was Mavs guard Sergio de Larrea, the 25th pick from Spain who has a long track record of playing against professional competition," Vecenie wrote. "He was sharp and timely with the ball in his hands, making the right reads at the right times consistently."

"I also appreciated the degree of creativity we saw from him," Vecenie continued. "He used eye manipulation at an expert level to create open looks for his teammates, both in half-court settings and transition."

For a Mavericks team that struggled to generate effortless offense a season ago, the addition of De Larrea might be a welcome sight. He can help take some of the pressure off Cooper Flagg.

It is going to be necessary for De Larrea to find a rhythm as a shooter. He only connected on 27.3% of his field goal attempts and 20% of his three-pointers this summer.

That includes a 3/14 outing in the loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and 1/8 in the win over the Thunder.

The good news is that De Larrea shot 87.5% from the free-throw line, which is typically a sign of good mechanics, and that he can improve his jumper over time.

Plus, the Mavericks have the perfect mentor on the roster with All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving expected to return at the beginning of the 2026-27 season.

Who Did The Mavericks Select In The 2026 NBA Draft?

No. 9 - Morez Johnson, Forward, Michigan

No. 25 - Sergio De Larrea, Forward, Valencia Basket

No. 48 - Tobi Lawal, Forward, Virginia Tech

No. 56 - Vsevolod Ishchenko, Guard, Lokomotiv Kuban

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