Dallas Mavericks top plays: Dirk Nowitzki’s final game vs. Dwight Powell alley-oop

The Dallas Mavericks had a lot of great plays this year, despite their less than stellar record. What was the best play/moment of the entire year? Here are the 3 and 14 seeds, decided on by me.

Even though the Dallas Mavericks didn’t do very well this year, I still felt like it was one of the most entertaining seasons they have had in awhile. Winning games is obviously the ultimate goal for every professional sports team, but for a team that was not built to win, there was a whole lot of entertainment from the 2018-19 Mavs.

After a short break, our search for the Mavs top play of the 2018-19 season continues today with the 3-seed matched up against the 14-seed. In the first half of the bracket, we had Dirk Nowitzki‘s final home game, Dirk’s final All-Star appearance, Luka Doncic‘s 11-straight points against the Houston Rockets and the Kristaps Porzingis trade all advance.

The moments that did not make it through the first round were Luka’s 30-point triple-double, the Mavs win over the Jazz by 50, Doc Rivers shoutout to Dirk and the Mavs win over the Warriors by 35. Here are the next nominees.

#3: Dirk’s last game ever

I think enough time has passed that we can talk a little bit about this game again without shedding too many tears. Dirk Nowitzki is the greatest player and person in Dallas Mavericks history and anyone who got to watch him play in the past 21 years of NBA basketball has been blessed in a way that many do not even realize.

After the show that was put on in Dallas just a night prior to this game, everyone knew it couldn’t possible compare. That may have been true, but it didn’t make this game and the tribute that the San Antonio Spurs sent Dirk out with any less special.

As someone who got to witness both of those games in person, there is little that can be said about either experience that can truly give them the life and respect they deserve. All that really needs to be known is that every person out there was willing to set aside everything else just to honor Dirk. That is everything you need to know.

We will miss Dirk Nowitzki this year, but we will all cherish the memories that we got from him over the span of more than two decades.

#14: Dwight Powell alley-oop from Jalen Brunson against Cavs

There weren’t very many individual plays that were super memorable from last season and even less didn’t include Dirk or Luka in some way. That said, this one particular alley-oop finish from Dwight Powell stuck out even more than the rest. It is time for the narrative that Powell is not a good player to die and for us to realize just how good he has gotten over the years.

To see the specific alley-oop, go to 0:45 in the video below.

https://twitter.com/NBACanada/status/1107275588509691905

When Powell got to Dallas, he could barely catch a lob, let alone throw it down with force. Now, he can catch a poor pass with one hand, contort his body and still finish with a convincing slam and people are hardly even surprised. That kind of growth is pretty much unheard of and is a testament to just how hard he has been working every year.

This play may not be the most memorable highlight we have ever seen of Dwight, but it was certainly one of the coolest moments in the 2018-19 Mavericks season. If someone deserves to make this list outside of Dirk and Luka, it’s Dwight Powell.

Both of these moments were great, but only one can move on to the next round. Be sure to cast your vote on our Twitter page and stay up to date with the rest of the bracket here at The Smoking Cuban.