Mavericks gritty wing mic-drops fiery warning for doubters biting at their heels

Naji Marshall has been known for his versatility, strong defense, and unstoppable floater ever since he joined the Dallas Mavericks last offseason, but what has made him a true Maverick is his tenacity, fearlessness, and grit. Marshall always stands up for his teammates, as shown by his viral brawl with Jusuf Nurkic last season, and he is always willing to do whatever it takes to help his team win. He has shown this time and time again for Dallas, and he is all in on the Mavericks and their vision for next season.

Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Mavericks have been one of the most doubted teams in the league, as their Las Vegas win total predictions combined with media predictions are far too low, even after winning the NBA Draft Lottery and selecting Cooper Flagg. Recently, Dallas was ranked as the No. 19 team in the NBA in some power rankings, and when asked by The Smoking Cuban about it, Marshall gave the exact answer that every Mavericks fan has been thinking for the past few months.

"Stay on that side, brother," Marshall told The Smoking Cuban after participating in a SwinCity League Pro-Am game on Sunday evening. "That's all I've got to say. Stay there."

Naji Marshall tells Mavericks haters to keep that same energy

Marshall clearly isn't buying the media nonsense trying to paint the Mavericks in a negative light going into next season, and he is confident in Dallas' roster and how they stack up to the competition around the league.

In this brief exclusive interview with The Smoking Cuban over the weekend, Marshall also talked about how excited he is to play with Flagg as well as Ryan Nembhard, and even name-dropped Phil Handy as someone with whom he has worked out a handful of times this summer. Handy is known as one of the best player development coaches in the NBA, and even though Dallas made some great roster moves with players such as drafting Flagg and signing Nembhard and D'Angelo Russell, the complete revamp of their coaching staff can't go overlooked either.

Handy, Frank Vogel, Popeye Jones, Jay Triano, and Mike Penberthy will all be joining Jason Kidd's staff next year, and Dallas truly has all of the pieces to be a feared team in the Western Conference. It may take a while, as Kyrie Irving is set to miss at least the first half of the season with an ACL tear, but the Mavericks should be at full strength down the home stretch of the season and into the playoffs.

If Flagg can be an elite player on day one like it looks like he will, the Mavericks are going to be one of the best defensive teams in the NBA right away, and Marshall is going to play a big part in that.

Marshall is one of the more versatile and strong defenders on the team, and having him within a defensive system that includes Flagg, Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford should have the rest of the league shaking in their boots. The Mavericks have one of the best backlines in the entire NBA, and if their role players can knock down shots, they're going to be hard to beat.

Dallas isn't going to be a bottom-feeder like the national media seems to think. They are going to be one of the most complete teams in the West once everyone is healthy, and just like Marshall said, the critics should "stay on that side."