Three reasons the 2011 Dallas Mavericks should be ranked higher

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DALLAS, TX – JUNE 16: Jason Terry, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks wave to the crowd during the Mavericks NBA Champion Victory Parade on June 16, 2011 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2011 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Legacy this team created

The 2011 Mavs are looked at as the team that hit their stride at the perfect moment and became the most unlikely of champions. With a roster built around players that had never won a championship, people questioned them right from the start.

The Mavs had a team of solid veteran players like Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Peja Stojakovic, DeShawn Stevenson, Caron Butler and, of course, Dirk Nowitzki. These guys came together to form a team that was built to slay the Goliath’s of the world. With the veteran experience and the still great play from each and every one of them, the team was built perfectly.

Since that amazing run, the national sports media has recognized how good that team was and try to compare every unexpected team that makes a run to them. There obviously will never be a team like that 2011 Mavs team, but people forget how the world reacted immediately after it all happened.

When the Mavs first took down LeBron and his newly formed super team, all the blame was put on King James but none of the praise was directed to Dallas. It became more about LeBron’s failure than it was about the Mavs success. This changed the narrative of Dallas being a really good team and instead they became a lucky team that played LeBron at his worst.

In reality, the Mavericks punished James to no end which caused him to make a lot of mistakes. The Mavs had the number of not only the best players in the world at that time, but they took down 3 of perhaps the 10 best players in NBA history all in one playoff run. That has to mean something.

Next: The Legend