Dallas Mavericks: 3 reasons to give thanks

The Dallas Mavericks and their fans have a ton to be thankful for, so here are three things that are worthy of remembering on this holiday.

The Dallas Mavericks are sitting just below .500, but have already shown tremendous improvement from a season ago. This Thanksgiving, the Mavs have a lot to be thankful for and here are three things.

1. Rick Carlisle

One could make the argument that it is safe to say the Mavericks would not have their championship from the 2010-2011 season if it weren’t for Rick Carlisle. The former NBA champion as a player with the Celtics and coach of the Pistons and Pacers is widely regarded as one of the very best in the business.

The Mavs are in the middle of a full-scale rebuild. Carlisle’s time in Dallas has been up and down due to roster turnover, departures within his coaching staff, and several unlucky stints with star players. Rajon Rondo, Lamar Odom, and Derek Fisher all betrayed their head coach in Dallas and never fully embraced being a Maverick.

Carlisle’s time in Dallas has been the most successful over his NBA coaching career. As the Mavs begin to turn the corner in their rebuild, Rick Carlisle deserves some pumpkin pie.

2. Fans

Maverick fans have been among the very best in the NBA for decades now. Their unprecedented sellout streak began all the way back in 2001 and has survived several difficult years of tanking. Now that the Mavs have assembled a promising group of young players, the fans have continued to file into the American Airlines Center each and every night.

Most of all, Mavs fans are among the loudest and rowdiest fan bases across the NBA. Carlisle and many players over the years have commented on the unwavering support the fan base has shown to a team that has seen many difficult times over their nearly 40-year existence. Still looking for their first playoff series win since their championship run in 2011, Mavericks fans deserve significant approval from their team.

3. Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk Nowitzki received a key to the city from Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings at halftime of the team’s game against the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 21. A first-ballot Hall of Famer and the seventh all-time leading scorer in NBA history, Dirk Nowitzki deserves an entire pumpkin pie, an entire pecan pie, 41 helpings of stuffing, and a statue outside the American Airlines Center.

There has never been a greater ambassador to the Dallas Mavericks then Nowitzki. A class act, selfless superstar, and all-around professional, the Mavs would not exist in their current form if it were not for Nowitzki’s love of the sport.

His and-one over Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen in game seven of the 2006 playoffs comes to mind, as well as his game-winning lefty-finger roll over Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in game two of the 2011 NBA finals when remembering the seven footer’s greatest moments. This Thanksgiving, let’s all be happy the big German has stayed in Dallas all these years.