Winning the NBA Championship is undoubtedly one of the best feelings for any player in the league. Theoretically, all NBA titles should be of the same value, but in reality, some NBA Championships are worth more than others.
One of the best examples of it was the 2011 Dallas Mavericks’ NBA Championship. Former NBA player and member of the 2011 Mavericks Shawn Marion recently explained why he believes the Mavs’ 2011 NBA title is one of the toughest NBA titles in the history of the league.
“Of course it is. It’s one of the hardest ones ever,” Marion said. “Think about who we went through to beat. The Lakers were the defending champions. OKC, we beat them, but they ended up going to the finals the next year. And then, of course, Bron and them were in the finals the next year as well.”
Apart from mentioning the Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Miami Heat, Marion also talked about the depth of the Portland Trail Blazers.
“People don’t realize, the deepest team that year in the postseason was the Portland Trail Blazers,” Marion added. “They were deeper than us. They had a squad, but we beat them. That set the tone for us to do what we needed to do in that run.”
"It is one of the hardest ones ever. The Lakers were the defending champions, OKC, we beat them. …[The Blazers] were deeper than us… But we beat them." @NBAalumni Shawn Marion on the Mavs' 2011 title 🏆
Story here 👉 https://t.co/gWSeofZZ1q pic.twitter.com/9e1RKX03Vh
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 21, 2023
Dirk Nowitzki was the heart and soul of the 2011 Dallas Mavericks. Led by him, the Mavericks defeated the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Kobe Bryant, Paul Gasol, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook in a single playoff run.
Keeping that in mind, Marion’s claim to the 2011 Dallas Mavericks title as having the toughest road seems true.
Who Did The Mavericks Beat In Their Road To The 2011 NBA Championship?
As we mentioned earlier, Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks defeated several superstar-caliber players. But let’s take look at how the Mavericks defeated their opponents in the 2011 playoffs.
Western Conference First Round: Dallas Mavericks (4) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (2)
Western Conference Semifinals: Dallas Mavericks (4) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (0)
Western Conference Finals: Dallas Mavericks (4) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (1)
NBA Finals: Dallas Mavericks (4) vs. Miami Heat (2)
The 2011 Dallas Mavericks’ playoff run will be remembered by fans for years to come. After all, defeating teams led by Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James is no small feat.
The Lakers were the defending champions of the NBA as they won back-to-back NBA Championships in 2009 and 2010. But they were no match for the Mavericks, who easily swept them in the second round of the playoffs.
Next came the Oklahoma City Thunder featuring the young trio of Durant, Harden, and Westbrook. But due to the lack of experience of the three superstars, they couldn’t outplay Dirk and the Mavericks.
The Big 3 of the Miami Heat could have stopped the Mavericks in their tracks if it weren’t for James and Wade’s mocking. When the two superstars mocked Dirk for being sick in the NBA Finals, it lit a fire under him, and he almost singlehandedly defeated the Heat.
All things considered, the 2011 Dallas Mavericks indeed had one of the toughest roads to winning the ring, and for many, it will always be labeled as the toughest.
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