NBA snatches away Mavericks' dream Christmas showdown in stunning holiday letdown

Last season, one of the Dallas Mavericks' biggest storylines all year long was Klay Thompson's games against the Golden State Warriors. Thompson had spent the first 13 years of his career in the Bay, and any time that he played against the Warriors last season, the NBA world stopped.

Everyone wanted to get a glimpse of the Splash Brothers, Thompson and Stephen Curry, battling it out for once rather than playing on the same team, and these games delivered. The NBA pushed this potential new rivalry hard, but with other storylines flying around the league, the excitement surrounding it isn't the same as it once was.

Now, Dallas has already been scheduled to play the Warriors on Christmas Day at the Chase Center, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, and the NBA messed up the perfect chance to give the Mavs a matchup with a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Los Angeles Lakers.

NBA missed the mark with Mavericks' Christmas matchup

The NBA has already pushed the Mavs' rivalry with the Lakers plenty ahead of next season, as they played Los Angeles in the NBA Summer League opener, are scheduled to play a preseason game in Las Vegas, and are also in the same group for the NBA Cup, but them playing eachother on Christmas Day would've been the cherry on top.

Mavs-Lakers would've easily been the most-watched game of the day, as fans would've been dialed in to see Luka Doncic play against his old team. Doncic seems to always be at his best when he's playing against the Mavericks, as he dropped 45 points in his homecoming game at the American Airlines Center and couldn't be stopped all game long.

A Christmas Day showdown would've been a bittersweet moment for Mavs fans, as Dallas' Christmas 2024 game would end up being Doncic's last game as a Maverick, as he went down with a calf strain and was sidelined until after he was traded to the Lakers.

On the other hand, a game against the reigning champions, the Thunder, would've been a dream come true for Mavericks fans as Oklahoma City has quietly turned into one of their biggest rivals. Dallas' series with the Thunder in the 2024 NBA Playoffs created a rivalry that could stretch on for years to come, as there always seems to be some bad blood from that intense series less than a year and a half ago, and this would've been the perfect game for the NBA to schedule for Christmas.

Dallas and OKC are so close together, as fans could easily travel in either direction to catch the game, and it would've undoubtedly included some legendary moments. Even with Doncic gone, the Mavericks and Thunder are bound to have some more heated games that fans are going to love, and fans from across the league would've been all over this game.

The Mavs and Warriors are bound to still have a good game on Christmas Day, as there is still a bit of a rivalry between the two teams thanks to Thompson's presence in Dallas, and fans are going to get a good show regardless. Thompson had some monster moments against the Warriors over the last year since he signed with the Mavs, and some threes raining at the Chase Center could turn Dallas' average Christmas Day matchup into a game that no one will want to miss.