Sergio De Larrea brings the one skill that will have the Mavericks' big men feasting

The Dallas Mavericks wrapped up Summer League over the weekend, and one thing about Sergio De Larrea is already very clear: He is an elite lob passer. The Mavericks' 25th overall selection in the 2026 NBA Draft has wowed fans with his lob-passing skill set, and this attribute will be a perfect complement to all of the Mavericks' big men, including Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and even their other first-round pick, Morez Johnson Jr.

Lob passing has historically made Lively II and Gafford much better

No, Sergio De Larrea is not Luka Doncic. And he probably will never reach the heights Luka has, even though Mavs fans these days are constantly comparing the two. But one comparison between the two Europeans is valid: throwing up lobs to big men. This elite skill that Sergio possesses has been very evident through these Summer League games, and Mavs fans know from the Luka days that both Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford benefit tremendously from accurate alley-oop passes.

The Mavericks still have both Lively II and Gafford on their roster. While Gafford has been in constant trade rumors and Lively II isn't even fully healthy yet, the fact remains that they are still Mavericks. And Masai Ujiri has proven he won't make a trade unless his team is benefiting from it. Especially concerning Gafford, it wouldn't come as a huge surprise to see him still on the roster on opening day despite the heavy trade speculation.

If the Mavericks go into the season with their current big men rotation, Sergio De Larrea could very well spend a lot of minutes on the court with both Lively II and Gafford. Similar to how he's helped make Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu look like Brandan Wright, this would no doubt give the big men a boost. And if Summer League is any indicator, even Morez Johnson Jr. can benefit from De Larrea's court vision, as the two have connected on multiple pick-and-roll finishes and lobs to the rim as well.

Sergio De Larrea should see plenty of minutes in the rotation

Now that Summer League has concluded for the Mavericks, it's time to look ahead to the upcoming regular season. With the current crop of guards the Mavericks have, there is a lack of ball-handling and playmaking. This will likely mean that Sergio De Larrea will actually be in the rotation and see a decent amount of minutes, given that he is one of the few playmaking guards on the team right now.

In his four Summer League games, De Larrea averaged just under nine assists per game, showcasing his vision and ability to set up his teammates perfectly. In his last two games against the Memphis Grizzlies and Thunder, De Larrea had 12 and 14 assists, respectively, including five lob assists in his last game alone. The alley-oops De Larrea has thrown in the Summer League, and his playmaking as a whole, prove that he deserves minutes in the NBA.

Not only will the Mavericks' big men benefit from Sergio's passing, but the rest of the team does as well, including Kyrie Irving. Irving was initially thought to have the bulk of the playmaking responsibilities from the guard spot, but with De Larrea's Summer League performance, he can take some of that responsibility away from Kyrie and allow Irving to do what he does best: score.

The Mavericks Summer League team had plenty of standouts, especially from this year's draft class, but Sergio De Larrea was arguably the biggest story for Dallas. While his shooting and scoring left fans hoping for more, his elite vision and lob passing were even better than expected.

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