With Dirk Nowitzki's career slowly coming to an end, the Dallas Mavericks may have found the perfect player to take over from him as the face of the franchise.The Mavs secured one of the steals of this year's draft as they selected Dennis Smith Jr. with the number nine pick.It came as a surprise to many that the North Carolina product wasn't taken sooner but the other teams' loss has definitely been Dallas' gain.Smith looks like a future star already and he adds the qualities the Mavericks were desperately lacking and required to compete in this current era.The NBA is a point guard dominated league at the moment and almost every team has a dynamic player at the one spot and the Mavs can finally add themselves to that list.The 19-year-old has wowed the fans in Texas this season with some explosive performances and ridiculous athleticism.With only half of the campaign gone, Smith has already compiled a long list of stunning highlight plays.He's not prepared to stop on that front either, as the Denver Nuggets found out on Tuesday night.The youngster added to his collection in the Mile High city as he showed off his crazy hops yet again.In the fourth quarter, he easily beat Gary Harris off the dribble and after seeing an open lane, he soared to the rim to throw down a mean one-handed dunk.

It's another indication as to why many people are calling for the rookie sensation to feature in this year's Slam Dunk Contest.

This was the most electric play during the final period where the Mavs almost made a remarkable comeback from a 16-point deficit, as they outscored the Nuggets 33-19.

They eventually fell short down the stretch, however, and narrowly lost 105-102 at the Pepsi Center.

As well as the impressive dunk, Smith finished the game with a team-high 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field.

He was aggressive throughout the contest, as all his points came from inside the three-point arc. He also added five assists, two rebounds, and a steal as he produced another solid all-around performance.

Dallas fans are enduring a tough season as their team languishes towards the bottom of the west with a 15-30 record but their rookie has been the one bright spark and has given them something to cheer on occasions.

Smith is averaging 14.3 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game this season and will only get better as he has a very bright future ahead of him.