Sergio De Larrea already gave Mavericks reason to trust him as Kyrie Irving's backup

Rookie point guard Sergio De Larrea shined in the Dallas Mavericks' first preseason game against the Houston Rockets on Friday in Macao, China. He finished with 11 points, six assists, and one steal while shooting 4-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from long range.

His performance off the bench gave Dusty May plenty of reasons to trust him as Kyrie Irving's backup during the 2026-27 season, and the rest of the preseason should give fans a great indication of where he stands in the rotation. De Larrea will need to beat out Marcus Sasser for this spot, but Sasser missed this game with left adductor soreness. Sergio gave himself a great head start over the former Detroit Piston in his first taste of NBA action.

Sergio De Larrea shot perfectly from long range

The main highlight of De Larrea's opening game was easily his 3-point shooting. The young rookie from Spain drained all three of his looks from beyond the arc, with all three of these shots coming off the catch. The mechanics looked pure, and most importantly, De Larrea launched these shots with confidence. Shooting open looks is oftentimes half the battle for young players, and he didn't look timid at all.

Sergio looks comfortable when catching the ball on the wing and in the corner, and his strong shooting performance was promising after seeing how he shot the ball during NBA Summer League. De Larrea shot 20 percent from three over four Summer League games for Dallas, but he took a step in the right direction with a good showing in Macao.

One game doesn't tell the entire story, but De Larrea has already proven that he can shoot well from 3-point range for an entire season. He shot 40.7 percent on 91 attempts in his final season playing for Valencia in Liga ACB, and as long as his numbers are closer to what they were overseas rather than the Summer League, he'll be in a good spot.

Larry needs to be able to stretch the floor if he wants to be a reliable backup option for Irving, given that the Mavs shot 34.4 percent from three last season. This ranked 26th in the NBA, and De Larrea providing efficient and confident long-range shooting will be huge for him moving forward.

De Larrea's passing gives Dallas another reason to trust him

De Larrea averaged a Summer-League-high 8.8 assists per game in Las Vegas earlier this summer, and he followed up four games of elite playmaking with another strong outing as a passer against Houston. He dished out six assists, played at his own pace, and looked comfortable when making reads and finding his teammates.

Passing is arguably the best part of his game, and he must continue to flourish in this area if he wants to play behind Irving. Dallas' roster is filled with play finishers, but in order for these players to get the ball in their hands, they must have a point guard who can feed them the rock.

De Larrea fits this mold, and a role should be waiting for him if he continues to play this well. He loves throwing lobs, finding shooters on the perimeter, and pushing the pace, and May will need all of these things from him.

His shooting, playmaking, and poise should give May some comfort to trust him as Irving's backup entering the 2026-27 season, and another solid outing on Sunday would prove this even further. Irving is set to make his preseason debut on Sunday, and if De Larrea can run the show while Kai and Coop are on the bench, he could find himself as Dallas' No. 2 point guard.

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