Charlotte Hornets' Grant Williams Calls Dallas Mavs 'Championship Contenders'

Former Dallas Mavericks and current Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams is high on his former team and thinks they can make a run in the playoffs.

Apr 1, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams (2). / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

In many instances, one would understand if an NBA player had sour grapes toward his former team for trading him to a rebuilding team in the middle of the season.

That isn't the case for former Dallas Mavericks forward Grant Williams after he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets at the trade deadline along with Seth Curry and a 2027 first-round pick for P.J. Washington. Ahead of the Mavs playing the Hornets on Tuesday at the Spectrum Center at 6 p.m. CT, Williams spoke highly of his former team, and he likes their chances to potentially make a run to the NBA Finals

Apr 1, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA;Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams (2). / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

“Trust me, that team can be a championship contender,” Williams said. “I think it’s all about depending on the [playoff] matchup. That’s the only thing that would be concerning."

As things presently stand, the Mavs (48-30) are the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference and trail the Los Angeles Clippers (50-28) with four games left in the regular season. If the season were to end today, the Mavs and Clippers would play in the first round of the playoffs.

Los Angeles was 2-1 against Dallas in the regular season and has eliminated the Mavs in two of their last three playoff appearances.

Dallas has caught fire at the right time, going 14-2 in its last 16 games, which is its best run since 2011, when it last won the NBA Finals. At the core of the Mavs' late-season surge has been the play of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

In his last 16 games played, Doncic has averaged a triple-double with 31.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game. Irving has also been stellar, averaging 26.1 points, 5.3 assists and 4.6 rebounds over the Mavs' last 16 games.

With the duo of Doncic and Irving and the team making an exponential jump since acquiring Washington and Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline, Williams believes Dallas has everything a team needs to make a deep playoff run.

“The talent is there,” Williams said. “With Kyrie and Luka, you’re going to have the best player in the [playoff] series almost every series, and that’s what you need in a playoff series. Then you have the ability to have versatile lineups. The team is so deep."