Dirk Wins His Title

He had just won his first NBA Championship and what does the great Dirk Nowitzki do? He calmly walks off the court and into the the visiting team locker room at American Airlines Arena. We didn't get to see tears like we saw when Michael Jordan won his first championship against the Lakers. What we saw was the cool, steely look of satisfaction in typically understated German fashion. I can't think of a more redeeming championship win since Jordan held onto the trophy like it was his baby. Think about what Nowitzki did all at once: avenged the loss to Miami in 2006, put down his critics, defeated the biggest villains in basketball, and got the last laugh against the faux-sick Wade and James.

The story line doesn't even include Jason Kidd, a future Hall of Famer, getting his first title at 38 years of age, and after last appearing in the Finals in 2003. Jason Terry wins his first championship in his 12th season in the NBA and he can now complement that with his 1997 NCAA title with Arizona. Has there ever been someone as good and as understated as Jason Terry? The guy has only been with two teams his entire career, has averaged 16.2 points per game, and has never been an All-Star.

Dirk won his title. But this Dallas team has got to be one of the most well-liked champions in recent memory. They're not an upstart group of guys that caught fire, they were a collection of outcasts and mistakenly labeled "soft" players who came together for a historic season to defeat the likes of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, and Dwyane Wade. Wow! What a season Mavs.

P.S. Class move by Dallas owner Mark Cuban to allow David Stern to present the championship trophy to Dallas' first owner, Donald Carter. I knew Cuban was a great owner that built the Mavs into one of the NBA's great franchises, but every time I looked at him I could only think of Donnie Darko. Congrats to Cuban for his championship, and for staying behind the scenes through it all. As we saw Dirk mature as a player, I think we've also seen the maturation of an owner.