Kristaps Porzingis drops truth bomb on his Mavs tenure ahead of Game 1

The Latvian center, Kristaps Porzingis, will be playing in his first-ever NBA Finals, but this first go-around will be against a former team of his. Porzingis played three seasons for the Dallas Mavericks, starting in 2019. But heading into this highly anticipated matchup, he gave the truth about his tenure then.

The center states that "not all of it was not good" when describing his stint with the Mavs; a narrative shift for those who wanted to push the revenge angle in the Finals.

"Not all of it was like not good," Porzingis said of his time in Dallas, which included a pair of first-round playoff exits (h/t ESPN). "We had some good moments. We had some decent moments, but overall it just didn't work for both sides. It wasn't perfect. But I would say everything -- teammates, locker room -- I know at that time there were some rumors that there was something in the locker room. It was never like that. It was all just noise at the end.

Porzingis didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point. He told reporters that it just didn't work out, and that's okay. There have been many incidents where a player and their respective team didn't fold the way they hoped, but that's just the nature of the game. It's all about "fit," and the two sides weren't a "perfect match," so to speak.

Did Kristaps Porzingis say anything else when asked about his three-year span with Dallas?

Porzingis tacked on more honesty and mentioned that "it just wasn't perfect us playing together, and it didn't work out."

"It just wasn't perfect for us playing together, and it didn't work out. And that's it. There's no ill will, I don't think from their side. For sure, [there is not] from my side. I don't think there should be. It just didn't work out, but I have nothing but love for Dallas and for my teammates and for everybody there."

If anything, this should reset all narratives of this series, at least from the Porzingis-Mavs portion. The star center is not even at 100%, health-wise.

That's the main angle right there, and the one with the most influence on how this series will go.