Less than a year ago, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison was public enemy No. 1 in Dallas. He was the subject of harsh criticism from the fan base after pioneering the trade that sent Luka Dončić to the Lakers, and was frequently booed by the teams ‘supporters.
That no longer seems to be the case for Harrison, however. After the No. 1 pick fell into his lap and the Mavericks drafted Cooper Flagg, he seems to have repaired his reputation among Mavs fans. Ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Pelicans, fans at Dallas’s American Airlines Center were even asking Harrison to sign autographs.
Dozens of fans were pooled in the front row of the stands reaching out in hopes of getting Harrison’s signature on some merch or a photo with the Mavs GM.
Fans lining up for Nico Harrison’s autograph
(h/t @MrBuckBuckNBA ) pic.twitter.com/t1ZRvqkdzi
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 5, 2025
Dončić was, of course, a fan favorite in Dallas and the face of the franchise. After he was dealt to Los Angeles, it truly felt as if Harrison would never be forgiven by the fan base. Fans mourned the departure of the Slovenian superstar, even holding a faux funeral outside the Mavericks’ arena in his honor. To say the relationship between the fan base and its general manager was fractured would be an understatement.
In the end, time heals all wounds. And in this case, it really didn’t seem to take much time at all for Harrison to get himself back into the good graces of (some) Mavs fans.
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