MACAO — Sergio de Larrea had 11 points, 6 assists, and 4 turnovers in 23 minutes in his preseason debut Friday as the Dallas Mavericks lost 135-117 to the Houston Rockets at The Venetian Arena. The teams meet again Sunday.
Dallas acquired de Larrea’s draft rights after he went 25th overall in June. The Spanish guard signed with the Mavericks in July, with Valencia Basket receiving a buyout, and wears No. 55.
De Larrea set a Mavericks Summer League record with 12 assists against the Memphis Grizzlies on July 13, then broke it three days later with 14 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. In that game against Oklahoma City, he had 2 points on 1-of-8 shooting with 9 rebounds.
Dusty May Says Sergio de Larrea ‘Has The Factor’
Mavericks coach Dusty May spoke before Sunday’s game during his pregame availability at The Venetian Arena, about 48 hours after de Larrea’s debut.
“He’s been incredibly valuable,” May said. “Anyone that watched him in summer league could see that he’s a gamer. When the lights were on, I said that about Coop, he’s similar. He looks more attentive, he looks more in the flow of the game than he does in practice, and he practices well.”
“But yeah, his competitive spirit, he has the factor. I mean, he’s someone that can impact the game in a lot of ways,” May continued. “Being a young guy, there’s still some deficiencies there, and he’s attacking them daily. But yeah, we’ve been very, very pleased with him, especially when the lights are on.”
Sergio de Larrea’s Path From Valencia To Mavericks
In 23 games for Valencia last season, de Larrea averaged 9.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 17.6 minutes while shooting 42.9% from 3-point range. Valencia won the Liga ACB championship, and de Larrea was named the league’s Best Young Player. He was the MVP of the 2025 Spanish Super Cup after averaging 18.0 points in the tournament.
The Valladolid, Spain, native turns 21 on Dec. 4. He opened Summer League with 9 points on 3-of-14 shooting against the Golden State Warriors before the two record-setting games.
The May comparison was to Cooper Flagg, who scored 17 of his 19 points in the second quarter Friday. Dallas has Kyrie Irving back in the lineup Sunday for his first game since tearing his left ACL on March 3, 2025, while Marcus Sasser remains out with left adductor soreness.
Sunday’s game tips off at 5 a.m. CT on NBA TV. Dallas returns home for preseason games Oct. 14 and Oct. 16 and opens the regular season Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. CT in Houston.
