Thompson had 22 points and seven boards, knocking down six of his 10 attempts from deep in his Maverick debut. While he left behind one of the NBA’s best playmakers in Steph Curry in Golden State, he now plays alongside another outstanding playmaker in Luka Dončić, and he had nothing but praise for his new teammate.

“It was great to be out there with Luka,” Thompson said. “What an incredible talent…(He) manipulates the game better than I’ve ever seen anyone do. It’s great to be a recipient of that and get some great looks. Hopefully we can improve each other’s games and our team.”

The Mavs are coming off one of their best seasons of the last decade, reaching the NBA Finals before falling to the Boston Celtics in Game 5. The title window is wide open for Dallas and adding a player like Thompson who knows a thing or two about winning titles should only improve the Mavericks’ chances.

There are still 81 games left in the season, but Game 1 seemed to be a good indicator of what type of season the Mavs will have.