Mavs' Dorian Finney-Smith Deserves More Defensive Recognition

In February, the Dallas Mavericks signed forward Dorian Finney-Smith to a $56 million extension, which looks like a major bargain going forward.

Last season, the Dallas Mavericks traded 7-3 big man Kristaps Porzingis to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans at the trade deadline. 

A day later, the team signed Dorian Finney-Smith to a four-year, $56 million contract extension. This was a pivotal move for Dallas, as the starting forward was in the final year of his contract and was poised to hit the unrestricted free agency market had a deal not been reached. 

Finney-Smith's contributions to the Mavs can't be understated, as he always takes on the toughest defensive assignments on a night-to-night basis. He's also improved every season since being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2016. In short, Finney-Smith is worth every penny of his new contract.

Mavs reporter Eddie Sefko believes so as well, and he wrote about the team's defensive cornerstone doesn't get the league-wide respect he deserves. 

"He always guards the other team’s best player and usually handles the job pretty well," wrote Sefko. "Yet he never gets any recognition through all-defense teams or, heaven forbid, defensive player of the year votes. That should change, but probably won’t."

In the playoffs, where the Mavs made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before being knocked off by the Golden State Warriors, Finney-Smith finished with seven blocks and 17 steals. Against the Utah Jazz in the first round, he tallied seven steals total, and four in Game 3 alone.

Despite his defensive prowess, Finney-Smith finished with only seven NBA All-Defensive Team votes. 

Another key aspect of Finney-Smith's game has been his shooting from beyond the arc. During the playoffs, he converted 42.6 percent of his 3-point shots. His best performance came against the Phoenix Suns, where in Game 4 he made 66.7 percent of his 3s and finished with 24 points. 

"His defense never wavers. He is a selfless player who doesn’t have to touch the ball a lot to be effective," wrote Sefko. "And his 3-point shooting now is a serious weapon. Nobody leaves him open in the corner. If they do, they pay the price."

Finney-Smith took another offensive leap under coach Jason Kidd. During the 2021-22 campaign, he averaged a career-high 11 points per game. He's increased his scoring average in each of his seven NBA seasons.

Does Finney-Smith have another level he can reach this season? If he does, it wouldn't surprise anyone in Dallas ... and it shouldn't surprise anyone else around the league either. Perhaps this will be the year Finney-Smith finally gets recognized with All-NBA Defensive Team honors.

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You can follow Lorenzo Almanza on Twitter at @LorenzoAlmanza2.

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