Dante Exum is back in the NBA. How’d he do in his return?

As the fifth pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Dante Exum was viewed by many as a future star. One with global appeal.

That was the hope, at least, when the Utah Jazz selected the 6-foot-5 Australian guard in the lottery nearly a decade ago.

Fast forward nine years, and Exum isn’t the All-Star that he was projected to be. Not close to it, in fact.

But after a two-year stint in Europe after his NBA career had seemed to fizzle out, Exum is back in the NBA now with the Dallas Mavericks.

It is only the preseason, but Exum officially made his return to NBA action Thursday, when he came off the bench against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Mavs’ first preseason game.

In 13 minutes in Dallas’ loss to Minnesota, Exum scored five points, grabbed three rebounds and handed out three assists. He made the only 3-point shot he attempted — he finished the game 1 of 4 from the field — and finished with a positive plus/minus.

You can watch highlights of Exum’s performance here.

There is optimism in Dallas that Exum can stick and become a valuable piece for the Mavericks, on a bargain of a contract (he signed a two-year, $6.15 million deal this summer).

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“Exum’s athleticism helps him excel as a finisher and a defender. His defense and ability to handle the ball will be vital for the Mavericks, as they need someone to help Josh Green carry the burden of having to defend guards on a nightly basis,” writes SBNation’s Gracie Villiard. After trading Reggie Bullock to the San Antonio Spurs in the three-team deal that landed Grant Williams in Dallas, the Mavericks need players who can comfortably defend guards.

“With Exum’s defensive abilities and improved shooting, it would be expected for him to share the floor with (Luka) Dončić and (Kyrie) Irving, as three-guard lineups were a formula for success in the 2021-2022 postseason run for the Mavericks. If Exum can play solid defense and hit open shots, there will surely be a spot for him in the rotation. Even on nights when his shot doesn’t fall, the Mavericks have plenty of scoring on the roster to play around him.”

For his part, Exum believes he is in a better place than he was during his previous stint in the NBA, thanks to the two years he spent in Europe.

“I think for me it’s been a long journey,” Exum told Mavs.com. “Obviously, being in the NBA before and having kind of dealt with a lot of injuries, I felt like I’ve had the skills to be here. But proving my being healthy has kind of been the problem.

“But I think going over to Europe and spending the last two seasons there helped me tremendously learning their game and how they play and just kind of the importance of valuing possessions. I’m glad I was able to kind of fight my way back here, but I think it’s just staying the course, staying healthy and making sure every day I’m working on my game and in the areas that haven’t been a strong suit and making that a strong suit now.”