NBA rankings expose how the Mavericks are collapsing without Luka Doncic

The Dallas Mavericks' decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers will go down as one of the worst decisions in sports history, and The Ringer's recent NBA player rankings expose how hard his absence has hit the Mavs' roster. Dallas routinely had a handful of players in the top 100 of these types of rankings when Doncic was on the team, but not anymore.

Doncic made the role players around him look like borderline all-stars, and this is why he helped Dallas reach the Western Conference Finals in 2022 and 2024, as well as the NBA Finals in 2024. The Mavericks had an excellent roster around him, but he made everyone around him much more valuable. The roster was perfectly built to maximize Doncic's strengths and cover up his weaknesses, and everything about the team seems different now without their former offensive engine.

Dallas only had one top-100 player in this year's rankings from The Ringer, that being Cooper Flagg. Not a single other player on the roster made the list.

The Ringer's rankings expose a harsh Mavericks truth

This is not only a wake-up call that the Mavericks need to do a better job of building around Flagg, but it also shows how much has changed with Doncic gone.

Kyrie Irving certainly would've been ranked if he hadn't missed the entire season with a torn ACL, but the fact that none of the role players snuck in is a bit shocking. P.J. Washington has had a strong season, as has Naji Marshall, but neither of them cracked the list.

If Doncic were still in Dallas, a few more players would've definitely been honored by The Ringer. He turned Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II into two of the best pick-and-roll big men in the Western Conference when he was on the team, but both players' numbers have taken a hit over the last year and a half.

Luka Doncic made role players look like stars

Doncic's ability to make everyone around him better is one of his top traits, and the Mavericks are clearly missing that right now. He creates more open shots for his teammates than anyone else in the NBA, and his impact on the game goes far beyond the stat sheet.

This is one thing that Mavericks fans miss most about him, and with the front office now having to build around Flagg, they have to reshuffle the deck. Dallas' roster, as currently constructed, was built to win with Doncic as their superstar, and his ability to raise players' ceilings was priceless.

Mavericks fans will be closely monitoring Doncic's performance in Los Angeles as he tries to lead them to the NBA Finals, and the fact that they want to copy the way that Dallas built their roster around him says something.