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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Lee Escobedo

Welcome to Duncanville: why the road to the NBA runs through Dallas

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham gestures during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Detroit.
Former No 1 draft pick Cade Cunningham is one of several Dallas-area players starring in the NBA. Photograph: Ryan Sun/AP

Another season, another name, another kid from Dallas. At street level, the city appears to be like any other – yet it continues to produce league-shaping NBA players. The main highway through Dallas cleaves down the middle of Texas. Taking it south brings you closer to the center of the state’s basketball talent pool. The road slopes downward as the city’s cosmopolitan polish thins out, neighborhoods split cleanly from downtown by sun-baked concrete and beige. Pink, green, and blue houses sit behind chain link fences, where yards are scoured down to dirt. Auto mechanic shops line the frontage roads with open bays and hand-painted signs peeling in the sun. Farther south, the road dips again, and space opens up to the heart of the story.

Welcome to Duncanville.

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