When your waiting for something, does it feel like it is worth the wait?
I believe in sports it truly is.
On Sunday night the Mavericks bagged their first NBA Championship in franchise history, and it had to be a relief for the old men on the roster.
Come on now, with players like Jason Kidd, Jason “The Jet” Terry and Dirk Nowitzki on your squad you had to get the feeling that it was coming down this maybe being the threesome’s last shot at claiming a ring.
Kidd had a few chances back when he was with the Nets, but fell short on both occasions. He fell short to Shaq, Kobe and Phil in the 2002 Finals and then lost to the Spurs the next season.
I won’t lie up until now, I really thought that there was no way that he was going to be able to add a championship to all of his accomplishments. I feel that J-Kidd will go down as one of the Top-50 players of all-time.
The guy used to dish out triple-doubles on the daily and make it look almost effortless.
I mean how ironic is it that he wins a championship toward the end of his career with the team that he was drafted second-overall in the 1994 NBA Draft.
I remember the rumblings that “The three J’s” were going to take the Mavs to the top, but the truth is with the help of Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn they were unable to claim that title for the city of Dallas.
So I have heard people call it fate that he won his first ring in the twilight of his career with his first team. I feel that it was just being part of a team of veteran players who were all hungry to reach a goal and they accomplished it.
Then there is the story of Dirk and The Jet, the only two players remaining from the Mavs team that lost to the Heat back in 2005.
“The Jet” was flying high and played a major part in the championship for the Mavs with his play in the series and especially the final two games off the series.
I can’t remember a time in my life that a guy came off the bench and lead the floor in the Finals quite like he did in the last two games of the series.
Terry played as big of a part in winning the championship as Dirk did.
Dirk played his heart out and there is no hiding that. He played on a higher level then any other player in the whole playoffs.
While I feel that all of the talk of him being the second-best power forward of all-time is a joke there is no denying that he is one of the best scoring forwards of all-time.
His performance throughout this post-season reminded me a little of the old Tim Duncan days, but with a little more clutch in the performances.
I mean, I never saw Duncan win two games in the final seconds by blowing by a defender with layups in the finals.
So, now all we can do is wait and see if Kidd comes back and also see if the Mavs can make another run at a title.
Feature image courtesy nydailynews.com
Alan K. Fox can be reached at alanfoxjr@gmail.com or on Twitter @alankfox
Leave a Reply