Williams earned his spot in Dallas after battling his way professionally, starting his career with 24 games with the Portland Trailblazers way back in the 2021-22 season. Following a short stint with the Mavericks in the 2023-24 season for 17 games, and as a two-way player for the 2024-25 season, Brandon Williams signed a contract for the 2025-26 season, where he once again became an alarmingly vital player for the watchability of the team.
Season in Review
Williams played a career high in 2025-26, playing 66 games
and starting 15 of them. Additional opportunities this season allowed Williams to post a career high in points per game and tie his previous high in assists per game (he got a lot of minutes and chances during the aforementioned time with the Blazers). His role with Dallas this year steadily increased as the team dealt with a myriad of issues, ranging from playstyle intentions coming up against actual defense, to injuries, and eventually, the trade deadline and reshaping of the team towards the future.
Throughout the year, Williams provided a necessary scoring spark; when Williams was able to get to the basket, Dallas looked like a team capable of scoring easily. When teams read the scouting report and allowed him to shoot long jumpers, the Mavericks were an uglier team to watch.
One area where Williams excelled was getting to the line. In just 22 minutes per game, he got to the line over four and a half times. His free-throw rate was .493, meaning he nearly took one free-throw attempt for every two field goals taken. This rate was easily the best on the team for players who regularly handled the ball. Williams’s ability and willingness to drive to the basket were extremely valuable to a team that lacked consistent offensive punch.
Best Game
Picking the best performance for Williams is difficult; he played well this season and oftentimes his numbers look similar across the board. Against the Bucks in a two-point loss, Williams posted 19 points, six rebounds, and three assists while getting to the line 11 times. His best assist game of the season came against the Nets, where the game plan must have been for him to get others involved; he had 10 assists and zero attempts at the charity stripe.
But, I’m going to choose his performance against the Golden State Warriors in a win in late January. Dallas fans were treated to the full Williams experience. In 27 minutes, he scored 19 points efficiently, seven of 10 from the field and five of six from the line, to go along with five rebounds and four assists. He missed both his three-point attempts but was a monster inside the arc, scoring seven of eight times.
At this point in the offseason, Dallas fans might have wanted him to rest that game when looking back, but that contest showed his value off the bench in a limited but specific role.
Contract Status
Williams is going to be a free agent when the league year starts anew in July. He just finished a one year deal worth a shade under $2.2 million.
Looking ahead
It feels both mean and reasonable to say that Brandon Williams may have played his last game as a Dallas Maverick. He’s both undersized and really cannot shoot from three and his passing comes and goes, though I think any criticisms I have there may be shaded by me not understanding his role night to night.
The Mavericks need ball handlers capable of shooting, driving, and passing. This seems obvious, but when pulling back, this year Williams could drive and pass, Nembhard could pass, but the other two were iffy, which left Cooper Flagg and Naji to initiate more than makes sense for 82 games.
I’ve valued Williams time in Dallas, but I also believe it’s come to a close.
Grade: B+
One has to respect Williams for doing what was asked of him. His path to the NBA has required so much patience and last year and this year I think he did a very good job showing that he is capable of being a fringe player. But his lack of shooting and size hurts him over the long run, and expecting him to be more than what he is isn’t realistic. But I’ll remember his time fondly, and for his performance in the face of very stacked odds, a grade of B+ seems fair.
