Mavericks vs Pistons, the Mexican NBA duel
In 2019, the Mavericks and Pistons faced off in Mexico, with Luka Doncic and Blake Griffin. Six years later they return to use the game as a platform for success.
This Saturday night, for the second time in the last six years, the Dallas Mavericks will take on the Detroit Pistons in Mexico City, as part of the latest edition of the NBA Global Games. On that occasion, Luka Doncic served up a triple-double to lead the Mavs to a 122-111 victory.
Now, dallas It is presented with another young and possibly generational talent in Cooper Flagg, a few months after one of the most important and surprising trades in NBA history, when Doncic went to Los Angeles with the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis.
On the other side, detroit It is also a totally different team after its last presentation. They went from being one of the worst teams in the league over the last decade to a contender filled with young stars like Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, and Jaden Ivey.
That both teams face each other — again — in the Mexican capital, and that the Mavericksin particular, play their fourth game in Mexico regular season since 1997, it is no coincidence. Both franchises have a deep connection with the country, a product not only of these approaches, but of historical figures with roots in the country.
Dallas: Nájera, Luka and… Flagg?
Players born in Mexico who have played minutes in the NBA are counted on one hand. And without a doubt, the most successful of them is Eduardo Najerawho has played a dozen seasons in the NBA with five teams.
The Mavericks They are, without a doubt, the team with which the Chihuahua native most identifies – he played five years with them, notably participating in the playoffs of the 2002-03 season, in which Dallas reached the conference final, along with Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash, the stars of that club.
After his retirement, Nájera has remained close to the franchise, coaching its G League team, the Texas Legends, as well as participating in the team’s Spanish-language media, and as a talent scout. His presence in Dallas, a city made up mostly of Latino people according to the 2020 census, and at NBA events in Mexico, make “Eddie” a living bridge between the most important basketball league in the world and one of its most important international markets.
“Everywhere he goes, he is greeted like Elvis (Presley),” Del Harris, former Mavericks executive, said in an interview with AM850 about Nájera. “They know him by one name there, like Pelé in Brazil,” he continued.
This Saturday, as usual, Nájera will take the court at some point while he is honored for the local sound, along with other retired NBA legends, proving that although it is more than twelve years since the end of his career, he is still a highly popular figure in the country, always associated with the Mavs, who continue to be a team with a large number of followers in Mexico.
Six years ago, during the club’s last visit to Mexico City, Doncic, the team’s then-superstar, took the microphone before the game and greeted the fans in perfect Spanish, a product of his time living and playing in Spain for Real Madrid.
Although it is unlikely that Flagg, the club’s rookie and new star, selected first in this year’s Draft, will handle that level of familiarity with the Mexican fans, what he will be able to offer are glimpses of his great potential in front of a knowledgeable fan base that has seen some of the best NBA players visit the country in recent years.
“It’s an incredible opportunity and I think I’m healthy enough to go out there and compete, give it my all. I’m excited to be in this new environment, a new place and a new culture,” Flagg said Friday. “I’m excited, they tell me that the people (of Mexico City) have very good energy,” he continued.
Detroit: Aguirre, the “Bad Boys” and a rebirth
Prior to the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, a story shook the country’s sports media. Mark Aguirre, star of the Detroit Pistons and two-time NBA champion, could represent the country that summer as he had Mexican blood. Both Mark’s father and paternal grandfather were born in Mexico, as was then-Phoenix Suns player Cedric Ceballos.
“We hope that both Aguirre and Ceballos can play with the national team,” said Julio Ortiz, then president of the Federation.
In the end, the topic did not flow, since Mexico did not qualify for the Olympic tournament. But Aguirre, who played for Dallas, Detroit and the Los Angeles Clippers, was later recognized for being a countryman. With the Pistons, he won the title in 1989 and 1990, both times denying Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the conference finals.
Aguirre was part of a group of stars, along with Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Bill Laimbeer, collectively known as the “Bad Boys”, the bad boys of the NBA, whose physical and intimidating game was combined with great offensive power with which they dominated the final part of the 1980s.
After reaching the top of the NBA again in 2004 by winning the championship against Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s Lakers, the Pistons have spent most of the last two decades floundering around with little luck – until now. The young trio of Cunningham, Duren and Ivey has the club among the best in the conference. Taking advantage of injuries to stars like Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, the Pistons are looking to take a step forward.
In Mexico, they will have the opportunity to leave their mark on a hobby that has more than 20 million fans throughout the country.
“We look for fans everywhere, we do not discriminate. When you see our players (as a fan) you fall in love, because they play with a lot of passion and love for the game,” said JB Bickerstaff, the Pistons coach.
In the end, what could feel like deja vu in the Mexico City Arena of something that happened six years ago, is rather an opportunity for two rising franchises in front of an audience that will cheer them on as if it were a postseason game.
