Anime has grown to unimaginable heights in the United States over the last 25 years. What once lived on the margins of pop culture is now mainstream, unavoidable, and deeply woven into how younger generations consume stories, heroes, and competition.

The Dallas Mavericks are leaning into that evolution by hosting Solo Leveling Anime Night on Dec. 18 at the American Airlines Center. And if the NBA is ready to embrace anime as part of its cultural orbit, it only feels right to ask the obvious question.

What if the Mavericks were an anime team?

Not a marketing gimmick. Not a jersey swap. An actual crossover roster where personalities, play styles, and basketball roles line up cleanly with some of anime’s most recognizable characters.

The Mavs Anime Starting Five

Point Guard: Kyrie Irving

Killua Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)

Killua Zoldyck is a prodigy raised in excellence. His speed is overwhelming. His skill set is surgical. His confidence borders on instinct.

Kyrie Irving operates the same way. His Godspeed is ball handling that looks almost unreal in live action, the kind that bends defenders into guesses instead of reactions. Irving gets to spots other players do not see and finishes from angles that should not exist.

Like Killua, Kyrie is at his most dangerous as the ultimate secondary weapon. He does not need to carry the entire narrative to decide the outcome. Give him space, give him a moment, and the game can flip instantly in a blur of creativity and confidence.

Shooting Guard: Klay Thompson

Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan)

Levi Ackerman is not loud. He is not flashy. He is devastatingly efficient.

Humanity’s strongest soldier earned that title through discipline, precision, and total commitment to execution. His takedown of the Beast Titan remains one of anime’s most iconic sequences because of how clean and inevitable it felt.

That same feeling exists when Klay Thompson gets hot. There is nothing rushed about his jumper. Nothing wasted. His form is mechanical perfection, the kind that belongs in museums and box scores alike. Thompson owns one of the most beautiful shots in NBA history and ranks fifth all time in made 3-pointers.

He does not chase attention. But once he activates, the game ends quickly.

Small Forward: Cooper Flagg

Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia)

Izuku Midoriya is defined by potential before he is defined by dominance. One For All gives him access to greatness, but early on, the story is about learning how to wield that power without breaking himself.

Cooper Flagg feels like he is living in that same chapter.

Flagg does not inherit One For All, but he comes from modern basketball pipelines that consistently produce elite talent. Duke. Montverde. The expectations arrive immediately. The responsibility does too.

Like early Deku, Flagg’s growth is visible in real time. One month it is defensive reads. The next it is off ball scoring. Then it is late game confidence. There will be rookie mistakes. There will be moments where ambition runs ahead of control. But every stretch recalibrates the ceiling.

This is the origin story phase.

Power Forward: P.J. Washington

Kyojuro Rengoku (Demon Slayer)

Rengoku does not need to be the strongest Hashira to matter. His value is emotional gravity.

When Rengoku is present, everyone locks in. The stakes feel higher. The moment demands courage.

P.J. Washington plays the same role. He does not run the offense. He does not need plays drawn up for him. But his energy changes how physical and serious the game becomes. He sprints into contact. He guards up a position. He embraces difficult matchups without hesitation.

Washington runs toward danger, not away from it. That fearlessness is contagious.

Center: Anthony Davis

Yami Sukehiro (Black Clover)

This comparison requires a deeper cut, but it holds up.

Yami Sukehiro possesses overwhelming power that can tilt entire battles when he is available. Anthony Davis does the same on an NBA floor. His presence alters spacing, defensive schemes, and offensive decision making on both ends.

Availability shapes the story for both. When they are there, everything feels possible. When they are not, the ceiling drops.

Neither leads through speeches. Yami does not inspire with monologues. He inspires through confidence and force. Davis mirrors that approach. He is quiet, imposing, and authoritative simply by dominating space.

Bonus Characters

Dereck Lively II

Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Aang is the chosen one tasked with mastering balance. That idea maps cleanly onto Dereck Lively II and the modern NBA center.

Lively sets screens with force. He protects the rim at an elite level. He switches onto guards without panic. He finishes lobs with power that wakes up the building. Earth. Water. Air. Fire.

The only uncomfortable parallel is availability. Like the Avatar’s long absence, Lively has appeared in just 98 of a possible 185 regular season games so far.

Daniel Gafford

Kenpachi Zaraki (Bleach)

Daniel Gafford is nicknamed The Landlord because he makes the paint feel unlivable.

That alone makes Kenpachi Zaraki the obvious comp. Kenpachi rules through intimidation and brute force. He does not need tactics to discourage challengers. His presence is enough.

Gafford plays the same way. He anchors the defense, punishes drivers, and turns the rim into a no fly zone.