Rumors of a Christmas Day clash between the Dallas Mavericks and a bitter rival

The Dallas Mavericks enter the 2024–25 season after making it to the NBA Finals, defeating two of the top three teams in the Western Conference.

Dallas started the playoffs with a tough series win over the LA Clippers, followed by a six-game series win over the Oklahoma City Thunder and a five-game loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Mavs have shown the rest of the NBA world that they are one of the league's most promising playoff contenders, and if some of the recent rumors are true, they will likely play one of the aforementioned Western Conference heavyweights on Christmas Day.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, “word is that one of the suggested Christmas options (subscription required) is Timberwolves vs. Mavericks.”

Dallas and Minnesota have had phenomenal seasons, and this would be a great way for the teams to face each other again after an intense Western Conference Finals. Both teams are led by young superstars Anthony Edwards and Luka Doncic, and both squads will likely be battling for the top spot in the Western Conference.

Although Dallas crushed the Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals, that doesn't mean a rivalry didn't develop between the two teams during the playoffs. That Doncic and Rudy Gobert don't seem to like each other has been clear for years, and there were several heated moments during the series involving Gobert, including Doncic disparaging him after his stab in Game 2.

In that series, Dereck Lively II also suffered a sprained neck after taking a knee to the head from Karl-Anthony Towns. A few plays later, he was hit in the head by Naz Reid, causing him to fall to the ground in pain, holding his head.

Reid was called for an intentional foul on the play. It happened in Lively II's first game back since his neck sprain, and the Mavs happened to be up by 20 points when it happened in Game 5.

The stakes were high, too, considering Edwards had challenged Kyrie Irving just before the series began. Irving heard what Edwards said, and he “used it as motivation” in that series, quickly making Edwards regret his bold decision to challenge him.

There are plenty of forgotten storylines between these two teams that would make them the perfect matchup for Christmas Day, and the fact that it would take place at the American Airlines Center makes it even better.

The Timberwolves and the Mavs will be jockeying for the top spot in the Western Conference for years to come, and what better way to get a taste of a potential Western Conference Finals clash than on Christmas Day while the whole world is watching?

Edwards and Doncic are both at their best when the spotlights are brightest, and this would be a matchup between two of the league's top MVP candidates.