DALLAS — Naji Marshall put a number on his next step at media day Friday. The Dallas Mavericks forward wants to shoot 45% from three, coming off a season in which he shot 29.1%.
It was otherwise the best year of his career. Marshall averaged career highs of 15.2 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals in 74 games, with 4.7 rebounds and 47 starts. He shot a career-best 51.0% from the field and had six 30-point games.
Nearly three-quarters of his shots came inside the arc, and he made 58.7% of his 2-pointers. He shot 77.3% within 3 feet of the rim and 55.3% from 3 to 10 feet, where 37.0% of his attempts came from. About half of his 2-point makes were unassisted. He also got to the line a career-high 4.1 times per game, up from 2.3 the season before.
He has shot better from three before. In 2023-24, his last season with New Orleans, Marshall shot 38.7% on 58-of-150 attempts. He called nothing-but-net threes the next step in his development.
“That’s going to make me unstoppable. I truly believe that. I work very hard on that, so it’s not going to surprise me,” Marshall said. “I might surprise some of you guys, but that’s for sure the next step.”
He will be in Dallas for a while. On Aug. 2, Marshall and the Mavericks agreed to a fully guaranteed three-year, $52.2 million extension that keeps the 28-year-old off the 2027 free-agent market and runs through 2029-30. He was the first veteran on the roster locked up long-term by president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and general manager Mike Schmitz.
“Naji has earned this opportunity through the way he approaches the game every day,” Ujiri said in the team’s announcement.
Naji Marshall On Rob Fodor Fixing His Whole Swag
Dallas devoted a full-time staff position to shooting this summer. It hired Rob Fodor from Miami, where he was the first full-time shooting coach in Heat history. The Heat recorded the seven highest single-season 3-point totals in franchise history during his tenure.
Marshall has worked with Fodor every day since the first practice of camp, alongside Caleb Martin. Fodor is the reason Marshall felt confident naming his number at media day.
“Hell yeah. He fixed my whole swag. That’s why I was so confident saying 45,” Marshall explained. “That guy is unbelievable. I’ve worked with him every day since I found out how much of a GOAT he was. I just appreciate him as well. I look forward to the season. I put in a lot of work with everybody, I feel, and I just look forward to going out there and competing.”
Nothing technical will look different in his jumper, according to Marshall. It will look a little smoother and go in more.
Mavericks coach Dusty May has seen Marshall shoot it better before. He pointed to the New Orleans years Saturday.
“Naji is a playmaker. He’s tough. He’s got a high basketball IQ as well,” May said. “He’s a different type of player with the ball in his hands. He has floaters. He’s a good finisher. He’s a good corner 3-point shooter. He had a couple of years in New Orleans where he shot the ball much better from three than he did last year.”
“So we think with the quality of shots and us being a very unselfish team and a very good passing team, they’ll all make a jump with the 3-point percentage,” May added. “But we certainly believe in Naji. He’s a good player.”
Naji Marshall On His Willie Green Reunion
Nobody called Marshall’s name in the 2020 NBA Draft. He had scored 1,277 points in three seasons at Xavier, and he started his NBA career on a two-way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.
The next summer, the Pelicans hired Willie Green as head coach. Green coached Marshall for three seasons, through 2023-24. Dallas signed Marshall on July 6, 2024, to a three-year, $27 million contract.
New Orleans let Green go 12 games into last season after a 2-10 start, and he moved back to Michigan. A mutual friend invited him to play golf with May, then Michigan’s coach, and the two hit it off. May is now the Mavericks’ coach, and Green is his lead assistant.
Communication comes easier with Green because the two already know each other. Green knows how to get to Marshall, and Marshall knows how to talk to him.
“It’s like a full-circle moment. Now that Willie and I linked up again, I feel like I’m comfortable. Going into the season, it makes it much easier,” Marshall said Sunday. “I feel like it’s easier communication, understanding that we really know each other, and he knows how to get to me, I know how to talk to him. So I think it’s beautiful.”
What stuck from their years in New Orleans was worrying less about what he couldn’t control. Green taught him about life outside of basketball, too.
“He just helped me be more of a dog. Worry less about things I couldn’t control, control what I can. He kind of helped me shift my focus,” Marshall said. “Just worrying about what helps the team and stop worrying so much about myself. For real, a lot of different things, life outside of basketball, he taught me some stuff. He’s a great dude, great OG, and I appreciate him.”
Green went 49-33 with New Orleans in 2023-24 and made the playoffs twice in four full seasons. May admits he doesn’t play golf at all. He said Friday that he was the weakest player in the foursome the day he met Green.
“We have a mutual friend, and I don’t play golf at all, and he invited Willie and myself as a way just to simply connect to play a round of golf. I think I played with a ringer, so we probably beat his team. I was definitely the fourth seed in the foursome,” May explained. “And I really enjoyed his company. And with all my staffers, it’s always about the people first, enjoying being around them. Are they eager to learn? There’s certain personality traits that I’m attracted to.”
“And then he started coming to practice as we started talking basketball. And so it was always in the back of my mind that, man, if there’s ever an opportunity to work with Willie, that would be unique,” May continued. “And so for whatever reason, a mutual friend connected us, and I think we hit it off immediately.”
Marshall On Kyrie Irving, Cooper Flagg, And Morez Johnson Jr.
Marshall’s read on the team’s identity is short. Wherever May puts him, whether that means handling the ball more or something else, he is available.
“Just a high-paced defensive team who crashes the glass and creates easy shots for their teammates,” Marshall said.
Dallas has size across the roster, and help is on the way in the frontcourt. Daniel Gafford is healthy, and Dereck Lively II is working back from foot surgery.
“I think that we signed a lot of good players this offseason that’s just really good at the game of basketball and playing in a team aspect, where they know how to move the ball, [half-court] offense, team defense. We’re all talking. So I think that we’re going to stand out in that way,” Marshall said Friday. “We have a lot of long players, 6-7, 6-9, 6-10. So I’m just excited, guys who can hit shots, getting Gaff back, Live back, he’s on the way back, so I’m excited for that. And I just hope that all the work we put in this offseason will pay off.”
Marshall worked out with Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg this summer. Irving has not played since tearing the ACL in his left knee on March 3, 2025.
“It was beautiful, especially working out with those two guys, it’s amazing. But Kyrie’s Ky. I’m glad to see him healthy, moving the same, hitting shots the same, still better than everybody in the gym,” Marshall said. “So there’s no real difference, just a matter of time, and I’m so happy he’s back.”
Flagg, the reigning Rookie of the Year, has a full year under his belt. He knows the spots he wants to get to and how he wants to dominate, Marshall said.
“I think it’s going to be a little bit better than last year, simply because I think Coop knows how to adjust to the game, which a lot of people don’t,” Marshall said. “And this year I think he kind of has it figured out. So I’m excited to see him play.”
Morez Johnson Jr., the ninth overall pick in June, played for May at Michigan and won the 2026 national championship. He has been limited early in camp. Marshall loves to pass and has an eye on Johnson as a lob threat.
“He hasn’t played much, but he’s a dog. He can really shoot it. He can really affect both ends of the floor, whether it’s defense or offense. So like I said, I’m excited to play with him too,” Marshall said. “And I love to pass, so him being a lob threat is something else that intrigues me, and I just can’t wait till he gets out there.”
Marshall has been through a lot of roster turnover in two years in Dallas. It taught him to stay in the moment.
“Things are going to happen. You’re dealt a hand of cards and that’s what you’ve got to play. I miss those guys, I feel [a] bond with those guys, but at the end of the day, that’s not my job,” Marshall said. “My job is to put the Mavs in the best position they can to win each night. And how I do that is work hard, work on my game, and lock in with the teammates I do have. So really just taught me how to be in the moment and help me grow up a little bit.”
Marshall switched to No. 3 this season. Dallas plays the Houston Rockets on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11 in Macao, then hosts New Orleans on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. CT.
