Dirk Nowitzki reveals blunt reason Mavericks surged through 2011 playoffs

The 2011 Dallas Mavericks championship run is known to be one of the toughest roads for any team in NBA history to win a title.

As the three seed, the Mavs had a tough road ahead if they wanted to see basketball heaven.

Recently, Dirk Nowitzki, Hall of Fame power forward and Mavericks legend gave some respect to his opponents in the 2011 NBA Finals in a recent interview with Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the brother of two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Nowitzki credited his basketball team for their hard work, but also took a step back and talked about how his team just so happened to peak right before the Miami Heat dominance took over the NBA for several years.

Nowitzki says Mavericks "got a little lucky" in 2011 playoffs

There's no denying the Mavericks' run in 2011 was a valuable, unforgettable run that Mavs fans will remember forever.

This includes sweeping Kobe Bryant's Lakers, shattering the hopes of a Laker three-peat.

After Dallas beat a young Oklahoma City team in five games, this would lead to a revenge NBA Finals series for Nowitzki and Jason Terry to get back at Miami from five years prior.

The Mavs would enter that series as heavy underdogs. This was the first year for Miami Heat's "big three" consisting of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Nowitzki would earn an NBA Championship and an NBA Finals MVP award. This capped off an incredible journey going up against numerous All-Star opponents in the playoffs.

However, as Nowitzki has shown his humble attitude many times before, he recently took the high road when discussing his legendary championship against Miami.

"We got a little lucky," Nowitzki said. "We saw them in year one where they'd just gotten together and I think they were not quite sure yet...We caught them on the early side before they really figured it all out."

This was the first year for Miami Heat's "big three." It makes perfect sense that they hadn't gotten it all together yet. With defensive adjustments confusing Miami, the Mavericks really showed the world that they had the pieces to beat the Heat.

Wade once credited a hidden gem for Dallas, J.J. Barea. Barea was an underrated guard who could beat his man to the rim on any given night and knock down open shots.

The right pieces were in play to face the Miami Heat. A mix of veteran players who had gotten close to a championship title in the past finally came together to win it all.

The Miami Heat would go on to beat the young Thunder team in five games in 2012. While Miami needed some help from a clutch shot from Ray Allen, the Heat would beat the San Antonio Spurs in seven games in 2013.

The team earned their title, no question about it, but Nowitzki may have a point. The Mavs might've been more lucky than fans believe. Miami was still establishing their bench and their lineups weren't as strong compared to others in the years after 2011. It's fair to say Miami didn't really gather the right pieces together until 2012.

Nonetheless, Dallas fans will always hang that 2011 championship banner in their rooms.