How the Dallas Mavericks got to the Western Conference Finals

The Dallas Mavericks are one series away from the NBA Finals, which means it's time to welcome the bandwagoners to our fan base.

Driving the news: The Minnesota Timberwolves are hosting the Mavs tonight for Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals.

• The Celtics and Indiana Pacers are playing in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Flashback: The Mavericks last played in the Western Conference Finals in 2022 and lost to the Golden State Warriors, who went on to win the championship.

• Luka Dončić had only been a Mav a few years, and he didn't have a strong team behind him — yet.
• And, it was Jason Kidd's debut as head coach.

State of play: The team made big additions since then.

• Versatile players like Kyrie Irving, Derrick Jones Jr., PJ Washington and rookie Dereck Lively II have shown that they can keep up with Dončić.
• Irving and Dončić have become a power duo , pulling off some wild plays in critical moments.
• Lively is only 20, but he's been a key contributor on offense and defense, often making memorable dunks and blocks . He's also the team's hype man.

What's next: The Timberwolves (No. 3 seed) will be a tough matchup for the Mavericks (No. 5 seed). The Wolves often play two big men at the same time and have a deep bench.

• Dončić was playing through some injuries in the past two series, though winning the conference semifinals in six games gave him a couple extra days of rest before this series.
• Forward Maxi Kleber remains injured and it's unclear when he'll be back.

The intrigue: Dirk Nowitzki was there to watch them clinch a Western Conference Finals spot during Game 6 against the Oklahoma City Thunder last weekend. 🐐

• He cheered courtside like a father figure and jokingly put a colleague-turned-reporter in a chokehold .
• We hope he'll be back this series to hype up the kids.

How to watch: TNT will broadcast the games, which means you'll be able to watch them on streaming services like HBO Max and Sling.

• Game 1 starts at 7:30pm. Game 2 is Friday in Minneapolis. The teams will travel to Dallas for Game 3 on Sunday and Game 4 on Tuesday.