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The Big D Breakdown · Player focus

Naji Marshall's Shot Has One Year to Catch Up With His Raise

He's Dallas' most stable wing, but the deal ahead of him assumes more shooting than he's shown.

15.2Points Per Game74 games last season
29.1%3-Point Percentageon 2.9 attempts a night
59.2%True Shootingat a 20.0% usage rate
$18.2M2027-28 Salaryup from $9.4M this year
By the Mavericks Nightly Desk · Monday, September 21

Naji Marshall played 74 games last season, scoring 15.2 points a night on a 59.2 percent true shooting mark while guarding across three positions. His three-point shot sat at 29.1 percent on only 2.9 attempts, well short of the number his $18.2 million salary in 2027-28 will require.

Naji Marshall of the Mavericks
Naji Marshall. Photo: FOX Sports, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Role He Already Fills

Marshall logged 29.5 minutes a night last season, running a 20.0 percent usage rate as one of Dallas' primary scoring options. He posted a 109.7 offensive rating and a 114.3 defensive rating, a net of minus-4.6 with him on the floor, and his 16.2 percent assist rate shows a wing trusted to create shots, not just finish them. He also grabbed 4.7 rebounds, dished 3.3 assists and averaged 1.1 steals against 1.6 turnovers, numbers that describe a do-everything forward rather than a specialist.

The Shot That Hasn't Arrived

The efficiency numbers hold up close to the rim: 51.0 percent from the field and 76.0 percent from the line. The three-point shot does not. Marshall hit 29.1 percent on just 2.9 attempts a game, and his 7.5 percent rebound rate is modest for a forward his size, more evidence his value runs through shot creation and passing rather than the glass or the arc.

The Money Assumes More

Marshall's salary jumps from $9.4 million this season to $18.2 million in 2027-28, then $17.3 million and $16.4 million after that, a starter's deal. His lineup numbers back that trust in flashes: six games and 47 minutes next to Anthony Davis, P.J. Washington, Cooper Flagg and Ryan Nembhard produced a plus-30.5 net rating, but 16 games alongside Washington, Daniel Gafford, Max Christie and Flagg netted minus-0.6, and 11 games with Davis, Christie, Flagg and Nembhard sank to minus-10.9. He isn't on the injury report entering camp. What he needs is for those lineup numbers to agree with each other before that raise lands.

What is Naji Marshall's contract with the Mavericks?

He earns $9.4 million in 2026-27, then $18.2 million in 2027-28, $17.3 million in 2028-29 and $16.4 million in 2029-30.

Is Naji Marshall a good three-point shooter?

Not yet: he shot 29.1 percent on 2.9 three-point attempts a game last season, well below his 51.0 percent mark on all field goals.

By the Mavericks Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.

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