Dallas Mavericks fans are eager to see their team tip-off against the San Antonio Spurs to open up the regular season on Thursday night.
This team has undergone some drastic changes in the offseason, including some offseason signings that have made the biggest difference for the Mavericks to get to the NBA Finals again.
Some players who have already been through the journey of appearing in the NBA Finals are the reason why the 2023-24 Mavericks team will not be forgotten, and one local is showing us why he’s already becoming a Mavs legend and hero.
Washington’s attitude shows he’s on track to be a Mavericks legend
The attitude of the Dallas Mavericks is why opponents won’t be testing against their toughness this season.
During multiple scuffles in the Mavericks-Clippers series in 2024, P.J. Washington showed us why he’s a Maverick to stay for years to come.
Washington infamously trolled the Clippers and looked at their bench when the Mavericks were clearly dominating against their past playoff foe. This is all a preview of “Clutch: The NBA Playoffs” which can be seen on ESPN.
Washington further explained this moment. “Terrance Mann came out and pushed me a little bit, told me to stop looking at their bench and I was like you’re not going to stop me, so I went over there and just did that.”
Washington became an instant lore, and an instant Mavs legend. His toughness adds on to the signing of Naji Marshall, a guy who’s proven to be an enforcer on whichever team he’s on.
DFW locals also have to remember that Washington is a Dallas local. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but settled in Frisco, Texas. He attended Prime Prep Academy in Dallas and spent time at Lone Star High School in Frisco shortly after that.
His presence helped the team overall and eventually became the team’s third scoring option.
His story in the NBA is not uncommon. He’s someone who played for the Charlotte Hornets, a team with a losing culture that was going nowhere. Fans could see his energy was always there, but his motivation to play for a playoff team increased dramatically.
As someone who’s a fighter and especially a local, Dallas fans love players like Washington. The DFW area is full of hardworking people who enjoy watching sports after a hard of day of work and traffic.
Washington embodies what an athlete should be as a basketball player and a hard worker. As someone who’s undersized against someone like Victor Wembanyama, he made the 7-foot-4 alien look very ineffective and forced him to post some of his most embarrassing numbers of the year.
If an opponent were to get into a tie-up jump ball against Washington and let’s say the scenario was for the officials never to blow the whistle, expect Washington to win that battle every time.
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