6 Rival opponents we'd love to see the Mavericks start the 2024-25 season against

1. Boston Celtics

There's an old saying in life: "to be the best, you have to beat the best."

That saying is something the Dallas Mavericks will have to live by entering the 2024-25 season after losing the 2024 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics. There would be no better time to use that saying than to have the Mavs open the season against the Celtics.

The Mavs are hungry to reach the Finals for the second consecutive season, but this time win it. If the Mavs were to open against the Celtics, it would be the perfect opponent for them to start their unfinished business. Kyrie Irving likely desperately wants to beat the Celtics after all the heckling he received from the Celtics fans in Boston during the Finals.

Starting against the Celtics can see just how good the Mavs actually were. While the city of Dallas believes in their Mavs, some might think the Mavs' run to the Finals was a fluke. To prove it wasn't a fluke, the Mavs having a statement win against the Celtics to start the season would show their run to the Finals wasn't a fluke to the NBA fans who still doubt them.

The Celtics will be in championship discussion all season long, and the Mavs need to earn respect again entering a new season with how competitive the Western Conference is. Irving has to put his struggles from the Finals to bed, and doing it on the road in Boston would be a storybook start to next season.

There's no better opponent to defeat in the first game of the season than the Celtics.