- Mavericks’ championship over LeBron James and Dwyane Wade is among the biggest NBA playoff upsets
- Tyson Chandler cites a disrespectful moment from Wade as the turning point
- Dirk Nowitzki closed the series for the Mavericks after miraculous Game 2 comeback
Cited as one of the biggest upsets in NBA history, the 2011 NBA Finals is a community favorite for various reasons. That year, the Dallas Mavericks shocked the world by beating the newly assembled “big three” Miami Heat and it’s still the source of much confusion today.
In a recent appearance on ‘All the Smoke’ podcast, former Mavericks big man Tyson Chandler finally addressed the questions and explained what gave his team the edge in that unlikely series: “They were whopping us in Game 2, and we were still almost shellshocked. What turned the series was when D-Wade the three by our bench and held it up and walked by our whole bench, like super disrespectful. After that, it was like ‘wake up’ and it woke us up.”
DWade and the Heat were feeling themselves in Game 2 after taking a 1-0 series lead the game before, but the Mavericks responded with their backs against the wall, rallying to a 95-93 comeback win.
“That was it for us at that point,” said Chandler. “We got back to us and started rolling them off.”
Game 2 was arguably the best game of the entire postseason. At risk of falling down 0-2 at home, the Mavs made a miraculous fourth-quarter run that saved their season and brought them their first championship.
Heat Paid The Ultimate Price For Disrespect
Thanks to a bit of showboating by Dwyane Wade, the Mavericks were able to rally in the game and regain confidence against a superior opponent. Of course, that wasn’t the only time that Wade and his teammates were caught throwing shade at the competition.
According to Dallas superstar Dirk Nowitzki, Wade and his co-star LeBron James set him off that series for some for making a mockery of his game. “We saw it after Game 5, but I didn’t see it. Honestly, I felt it was a little disrespectful,” Nowitzki later said. “[But] it didn’t add to my motivation if that makes sense. I’m one game away from achieving my dreams, one I’ve chased 12 years into the league.”
The Heat were the villains that year, and they acted like it, but they’d seemingly learned their lesson that summer. In the years that followed, we saw much more humility from the star duo, and they learned how to avoid rallying the other team together.
The Biggest Upset In NBA History?
Nobody was giving the Mavericks a chance to beat the Miami Heat superteam. After rolling to the Finals on the backs of Wade and LeBron, Miami looked unstoppable just as everyone predicted they’d be when they first got together months before.
And yet, somehow, the Mavericks were able to beat them despite having Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler, and a modest cast of supporting players around them. After beating Dallas in Game 1, the Heat were looking to establish full control of the series before heading back home to finish the job.
Instead, the Mavericks hit rock bottom and pulled everything together to respond when they needed to the most. Following the comeback win in Game 2, the Heat were able to win another to take a 2-1 series lead.
Behind strong play from Dirk Nowitzki, who put up 26.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in the series, the Mavs never lost another game and they’d win the title as major underdogs.
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