The Dallas Mavericks flourished as a prominent force in the NBA in the mid-2000s under the leadership of Dirk Nowitzki. Yet the German star failed to help his franchise win a championship during that period due to sustained miseries in the playoffs. The former Mavs opened up about one such run from the 2007 playoff series in the latest episode of the ALL THE SMOKE podcast.
Advertisement
The Texas side stunned the world by qualifying for the 2006 NBA finals to face the Miami Heat. But despite their best efforts, the underdogs fell short as Dirk became determined to keep the momentum going in the following campaign. “In ’06 like I said I wasn’t that frustrated. Of course, I was a little disappointed but I was like, ‘I’m in my prime. Next year, we are coming in. We have the same team. We’re gonna roll,'” he mentioned.
The start of the season did not meet expectations, as they lost all four of their opening matches. Still, the roster kept their faith in fact, as the Power Forward stated,
“Started the season off 0-4. Win in a double overtime in Phoneix. We are about to go on five and we win and then roll the rest of the season”.
The belief paid off as the franchise finished the regular season with a 67-15 record to claim the top spot in the Western Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, they faced a Golden State Warriors team consisting of both the hosts, Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
“Here come the Warriors and we didn’t love playing you guys I gotta say,”
Dirk mockingly revealed as he delved into the frustrations from the encounter.
Coached by Mavs’ former head coach, Donald Nelson, the Warriors’ antics created problems for the favorites on the court.“You guys were a tough matchup for us. Not only did Nellie know every strength of ours since he coached us and he knew exactly what to do,” Nowitzki highlighted. The 14x All-Star gave further credit to the ‘We Believe’ San Francisco side, adding, “You guys had a small team that always gave me problems.”
The MVP of that campaign then dissected how Nelson’s infamous ‘Nellie Ball’ became a source of concern for his team in that series. “You guys were fronting in the post,” Dirk mentioned before pointing out, “We had a tough time getting the ball to me passing first of all.” The Warriors set multiple traps on the court to contain the Mavs as they won the series 4-2 against all the odds.
The entire clash became a nightmare for the European star as his dreams came crashing down at the start of the post-season.
“That was probably my worst playoff series that I’ve played, and all the credit obviously to you guys and that was tough,”
The severity of the defeat affected his state of mind to a large extent, as Nowitzki reflected on those later on in the show.
The most embarrassing phase for Dirk Nowitzki
Following the loss, Dirk felt devasted as he put too much pressure on himself to win his first-ever ring that year. Thus, the loss shook him to the core as that failure started to dictate his actions. The 2007 MVP highlighted, “I didn’t wanna leave my house. I didn’t wanna go to the MVP ceremony to take the MVP”.
Eventually, he went to the ceremony in May of that year as he became the first-ever European player to win an MVP award. Yet, the trophy became a reminder of painful moments for him, as Nowitzki revealed, “Every time I see my MVP trophy now at home, unfortunately in my mind, I think of you guys.”
In the end, things fell into place for the 7′ maestro as he lifted the 2011 championship, defying all odds. His iconic performances even earned him a Finals MVP trophy. So, his story wonderfully captured both sides of the league as he became a basketball phenomenon of this century.
