Dallas Basketball

HOF Highlights: Re-Watch Every Dirk Bucket From 2011 Finals

As Dirk Nowitzki prepares for his big Hall-of-Fame enshrinement next weeks, DallasBasketball.com relives the Dallas Mavericks legend's epic 2011 NBA Finals performance.
Dalton Trigg|
HOF Highlights: Re-Watch Every Dirk Bucket From 2011 Finals
HOF Highlights: Re-Watch Every Dirk Bucket From 2011 Finals

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Dallas Mavericks

This week, as we continue to Dirk Nowitzki's many accomplishments leading up to his Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement on Saturday night, there will always be one feat that sticks out more than the rest – the 2011 NBA Finals, where Nowitzki put on an MVP performance to help the Dallas Mavericks secure their first title in franchise history over LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat.

During that epic series, Nowitzki averaged 26.0 points and 9.7 rebounds while shooting 36.8 percent from deep, including a handful of clutch moments. Nowitzki even battled through having a 102-degree fever in Game 4 when the Mavs were down 2-1 – something Wade and James infamously mocked after Dallas tied the series.

Despite being sick, Nowitzki battled his way to 21 points and 11 rebounds in that must-win game, including a clutch layup in the finals moments to help Dallas secure an 86-83 win.

The Mavs went on to win the 2011 Finals in six games over the Heat, and Nowitzki was a +40 in the boxscore plus/minus for the series. He secured his first title and Finals MVP award, cementing his status as one of the greatest players in league history. Nowitzki would've been viewed favorably regardless, but having that title just means more.

"MVP means nothing," said Nowitzki fresh off winning the title. He won the 2007 league MVP after being upset by the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors in the first round. "Championship means everything."

Relive every single Dirk bucket from the 2011 NBA Finals right here:

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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