How Josh Green's rise has helped power Mavericks' playoff push

The Dallas Mavericks are within reaching distance of a 2024 NBA playoff berth, and Aussie Josh Green has played a big part so far.

The combined star power of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving has driven the Dallas Mavericks into NBA playoff contention, after a dismal 2022-23 season where they finished eleventh in the west - one place away from postseason action. But a formidable back court duo isn’t quite enough to secure a playoff berth, at least not without an appropriate supporting cast. Irving arrived late in the 2022-23 season, and despite averaging 27 points over twenty games, he couldn’t quite lift Dallas into tenth place.

The Mavs needed to make some moves going in to the 2023-24 season, and swiftly recruited Grant Williams from the Boston Celtics. They also signed Aussie Danté Exum, who was coming off a career best season with European heavyweights Partizan Belgrade. Now toss in an NBA draft lottery pick - which turned out to be seven footer Dereck Lively - and they looked much better ahead of Irving’s first full season on the team. But while the new signings drew plenty of attention, it was important to note that Dallas also retained Sydney native Josh Green, who signed an extension in October 2023.

Green was coming off a breakout year of sorts, averaging 9.1 points and 3.0 rebounds throughout the 2022-23 season. He also shot a career high 40.2% from beyond the arc (on 2.8 attempts per game), while averaging an incredible 53.7% clip from the field. Green thrived in an off-ball role next to Dončić, whose ball-dominant style and passing vision led to countless spot up looks for the Aussie.

Green’s growth was rewarded with a three-year, $US 41 million contract, and the 23 year old appeared poised for an even bigger year in 2023-24. The departure of Reggie Bullock, in addition to the losses of Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith from the Irving trade, meant there were plenty of wing minutes up for grabs. After Tim Hardaway Jr., Green instantly became the team’s second most credentialed swingman, and projected to be a key starter from day one of the 2023-24 season.

But while personnel changes presented an opportunity on paper, they didn’t quite translate in real life.