DBcom Exclusive: Mavs' O-Max Prosper Talks NBA Summer League, Klay Thompson Signing & More
LAS VEGAS – As the Dallas Mavericks prepare to open NBA Summer League play on Saturday night, most of the spotlight will be on second-year forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper. In split time between the Mavs and their G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, last season, Prosper showed his potential as a two-way threat.
On Saturday morning at Cox Pavilion, Prosper spent some time with DallasBasketball.com to cover several topics, including the biggest lesson he learned from his rookie season, his heightened level of confidence going into his second Summer League appearance, the Mavs' signing of NBA legend Klay Thompson, and much more.
"Honestly, the biggest lesson, I think, is just learning how to play with my teammates, playing with Luka and Kyrie, and just finding little things that get you on the floor," Prosper said when about the most important lesson he learned during his rookie season.
"You know, it's a lot of talented players in this league, and for me as a rookie, it was just being patient and learning how to slow the game down. Because it could be very fast at first, you know, playing. It's a different game than a college game, so learning that game, it was very fast at first. And learning how to see it before it happens and slowing down, that was the biggest thing that I think my growth over the course of the season is my poise. And now, I'm able to see things before they happen and make better decisions off of that."
Starting with this year's Summer League, Prosper will look to take the next step in his development toward potentially being a full-time rotation play for head coach Jason Kidd. Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com and our Mavs Step Back Podcast for more from this exclusive interview, as well as coverage of Prosper's performance against the Utah Jazz Summer League team on Saturday night.
