The NBA is in good hands for the foreseeable future with its plethora of young stars. From Giannis Antetokounmpo to Jamal Murray, Jayson Tatum to Donovan Mitchell, and Trae Young to Luka Doncic, there is no shortage of talent under the age of 26. However, to be the best team for an entire decade, you need far more than a young superstar. Coaching, the front office, the conference you play in, and all the other intangibles come into play when you start discussing potential dynasties. You need the stars to align, both on the court and off, to have a chance at dominating for 5-10 years. Out of all the teams with a bright future, the Dallas Mavericks have the best chance to take the league over in the 2020s.

There are a multitude of reasons why this is the case, with the first being the most obvious: they have a budding 21-year-old superstar in Luka Doncic. Luka is coming off of a historic sophomore campaign, where he posted 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 8.8 assists a night. When you pair this with the fact that he was an All-Star starter, 1st team All-NBA, and led the Mavs to the highest offensive rating in NBA history (116.7), there is already a case to be made that Luka Doncic is a top 5 player in the league. A top 5 player at age 21 is a great place to start, but far from where the Mavs' case ends.

In addition to Luka Doncic, Dallas landed a former All-Star in the form of Kristaps Porzingis back on January 31st, 2019. The 25-year-old Knicks star tore his ACL back in February of 2018 and played his first season post-injury in 2019-20. Averaging 20.4 points and a career-high 9.5 rebounds, The Unicorn showed flashes of his All-Star potential, and really put it together towards the end of the season and into the playoffs, before tearing his meniscus in Game 1 of the first-round series against LA. The duo of Luka and KP has shown how deadly it can be, and with both of them under the age of 26, this Batman and Robin could be running Gotham for the next decade.

Not only do you need star power to win in the modern NBA, but you need a great supporting cast as well. Part of this is the front office putting together a great team, and the other part is the coach getting the most out of the players they are dealt. The Mavericks have not been the best at landing big fish in free agency, but when it comes to finding diamonds in the rough and polishing them, they are one of the best in the business. Since Rick Carlisle took over as Head Coach in 2008-09, the Mavs have only had 1 All-Star selection outside of Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic. This was a 36-year-old Jason Kidd, who was an injury replacement in 2010. In that same time period, the Mavs have won 50 games 4 times, made the playoffs 8 times, and won an NBA championship; remarkable feats for a team with little to no star power.

The explanation for this is simple: the front office finds lesser-known talent, and Rick Carlisle gets the best out of these players. Seth curry has had his two best professional seasons as a Maverick, and Tim Hardaway Jr., who was originally a contract dump included in the Porzingis trade, was transformed from a volume shooter on a bad team into a viable third option on a playoff team. Trey Burke was cut by the 76ers earlier in the 2019-20 season and emerged as a key bench player for Dallas in the bubble. For proof of Carlisle's coaching expertise, in 2015-16, the Mavs made the playoffs as the 6th seed, a season in which they had no players averaging above 19 points a game.

The Mavs being in the West also helps. This may seem like an absurd statement, as the 2020-21 Western Conference could be the best in history, but if you look at it more closely, it makes a lot of sense. The Lakers have an aging LeBron who only has 2 more years on his current deal and traded away their young core for Anthony Davis.

The Clippers have 2 stars that will be free agents after next season and proved that they were not who we thought they were during the playoffs. The Rockets are a mess, with a seemingly bad fit of Harden and Westbrook both tied up under crippling contracts for the next 3-4 years. The Warriors have lost firepower and are hoping to put something back together to make another title run. With these powerhouses falling off, Dallas is in a position to swoop in and take their place.

The final argument to be made for the Mavs domination in the 2020s is the culture they have created. Loyalty, winning, and passion are a few of the words that can be used to describe it. They have sold out every game since December 15th, 2001, which is an NBA record. They won 50 games in 11 consecutive seasons, from 2001 to 2011, the third-longest streak in NBA history.

They had the only player to play 21 seasons for one team in Dirk Nowitzki; someone who gave up big paydays multiple times, some from other teams, so the Mavs could have a better chance at creating championship contenders.

They have one of the best owners in all of sports, Mark Cuban, who is not afraid to speak his mind and stand up for what is right, even if it costs him a lot of money. It goes without saying that the Dallas Mavericks would need to stay healthy and sign the right pieces to take over this next decade, but the base they already have puts them far ahead of the competition.