For about half a year, Olivier-Maxence Prosper has worn a custom-made rubber bracelet gifted to him by his uncle. On the top, the bracelet reads “forget the odds … I bet on myself.” Underneath, there is a picture of the flag of Haiti, where his father is from, along with the word “krazé” from the Haitian Creole, which translates to “dominant.”
The bracelet is a reminder of Prosper’s mantra, a message he strives to live by every day.
“It means everything to me,” Prosper said Monday. “I was doubting myself at first. If you believe in yourself and your abilities, then nothing can stop you. It doesn’t matter who’s in front of you … You put your head down, you put in the work and trust your work, and then you come out there and do what you do.”
Prosper plans on embracing that mindset when he competes in the 2024 NBA Summer League from July 12-22.
The forward was the No. 24 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft and was acquired by the Mavericks in a draft-day trade. He appeared in 40 regular season games with the Mavericks this past year while dividing time in the G League. During his rookie campaign, Prosper averaged 3.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 8.4 minutes per game.
On July 3, the Mavericks announced their roster for the NBA 2K25 Las Vegas Summer League, and Prosper’s name was listed for the second consecutive year.
The Summer League, organized by the NBA, is an offseason basketball competition. It gives organizations the chance to utilize different rosters, including rookie, sophomore and G League players.
The opportunity to play for a second year means that expectations for Prosper are higher, however.
“For O-Max, you have such a bigger role, but you want to keep it simple,” said Jared Dudley, assistant coach of the Mavericks and head coach of Dallas’ summer league team. “Our job here, and my job here so far, is to show him improving from year one to year two, to hopefully make him a rotational player. … The big thing about the summer league and now with O-Max is your decision-making. … That’s something that O-Max has to be able to do on a consistent basis, which he hasn’t shown yet.”
As a sophomore-year veteran, Prosper has full confidence he will be able to step into a rotational player role this upcoming season.
“From all the things I learned this year, I think it’s just learning how to play with my teammates Luka and Kyrie, and learning how to complement them … making all the shots, attacking the rim and doing all the things I know I can do,” Prosper said. “I believe I’m right there, and I believe I will step into that organization.”
Reminiscing about his rookie season, Prosper said he is always looking for ways to improve on the court. He mentioned one of his biggest points of focus is slowing down his game.
“I’m playing with more poise,” Prosper said. “That’s what it is at the end of the day. You can look at it and it’s so fast, but you take a step back and you play at your pace, that’s where you’ll be most successful because you see things before they happen. You aren’t trying to rush everything. I feel like that’s going to be the biggest difference in year two compared to year one.”
Prosper said he is looking forward to the learning experience in Las Vegas in the coming weeks, but most importantly, he is ready to take on the best of the best.
“That’s what I want,” Prosper said. “I want the toughest challenge. I want to be put in the toughest situations.”
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