The Dallas Mavericks are looking to bounce back following a 2024-25 season that saw them get eliminated in the NBA Play-In Tournament. A full season of Anthony Davis and the addition of Cooper Flagg via the 2025 NBA Draft have fans excited, but Naji Marshall's impact should not be ignored. Marshall is fresh off a strong 2024-25 campaign, but there is one area of his game the Mavericks need him to improve.
Marshall averaged 13.2 points while shooting 50.8 percent from the field this past season. He also recorded 4.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals per outing. However, after shooting 38.7 percent from three-point land in 2023-24 with the New Orleans Pelicans, Marshall recorded just a 27.5 three-point shooting percentage in his first season with Dallas.
The Mavs forward still finished the year with a career-high 58.4 true shooting percentage. He made an overall positive impact, but Marshall endured trouble with his three-point shot.
The idea that Marshall could improve the Mavericks' three-point shooting while helping on the defensive end of the floor cushioned the blow of losing Derrick Jones Jr. last offseason — who signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. But Marshall simply was unable to find the bottom of the net on a consistent basis from behind the three-point line.
The Mavericks gave him opportunities. Marshall's 3.2 three-point attempts per outing was a career-high. So, what went wrong?
Marshall has averaged exactly 0.9 three-point makes in each of the past three seasons. In 2022-23, he took 2.8 three-point attempts per outing and shot 30.3 percent. In his strong 38.7 three-point shooting percentage season in 2023-24, Marshall only attempted 2.3 long-range attempts per game.
Marshall is going to give you around one three-point make per contest. In 2025-26, he either needs to find a way to make more shots from deep or begin taking less three-point attempts. The former would be preferred, as the Mavericks need all of the three-point shooting they can get.
Klay Thompson is obviously one of the best long-range shooters of all-time. D'Angelo Russell can shoot the three-ball, as can Kyrie Irving who will miss the first portion of the season while recovering from ACL surgery. The Mavs' transition toward a defensive-first approach with a strong frontcourt leaves them without all-around consistent three-point shooting, however.
If Marshall can develop more consistency from deep, though, it could change the dynamic of the Mavericks' offense when he is on the floor.
