Jeff Van Gundy Calls Out Mavs' Tanking Amid Heat's NBA Finals Run

Former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy was not a fan of the Mavs' decision to sit healthy players during their final two games to prioritize the draft over play-in qualification.

DALLAS — Before being officially eliminated from the Western Conference play-in picture, the Dallas Mavericks opted to sit healthy players for their final two games of the season. With a top 10 protected pick in the 2023 NBA Draft that could convey to the New York Knicks, the goal was to secure the 65.2 percent chance of retaining the pick by losing the final two games. 

The Mavs ultimately would have been eliminated from the play-in picture whether they won those final two regular season games or not. Their destiny was no longer in their hands and other required outcomes to still qualify for the final play-in spot were not going to be present. The decision resulted in a $750,000 fine from the NBA.

Regardless, the decision sparked controversy given the team essentially favored ending their season instead of seeing it through. With a franchise cornerstone who has now earned four All-NBA First-Team nods in Luka Doncic, favoring to prioritize retaining a draft pick over fighting until the end became a hot topic of debate.

During a media conference call ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, ESPN analyst and former head coach Jeff Van Gundy brought up the Mavs' decision to tank their final two games as opposed to competing as hard as possible to sustain a chance to qualify for the play-in tournament as the Heat managed to do. 

“I understand the whys. But I also think, having looked at what Jimmy Butler and the Heat have done, you can undersell your great talent in Doncic,” Van Gundy said.

“I’m not saying they would have advanced and made the playoffs and won big in the playoffs, but Doncic is that good where you always have a fighting chance.”

With two superstars in Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Van Gundy felt as though the Mavs should have continued to compete until the very end since those two talents could have been enough to possibly pull off a major run.

“It wouldn’t have been my preferred style if I was Dallas, and yet I understand why they did what they did,” Van Gundy said. “I would have just given Doncic and Irving a chance, or every chance they could have, to do the unthinkable.”

The Mavs will have to re-tool their roster around Doncic and Irving to not have to make determinations of this nature. Just one year removed from a Western Conference Finals run, a team led by Doncic can achieve big things. With improvement on defense and in rebounding, perhaps they can get back to that point as opposed to finishing with a 38-44 record.

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Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).

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