One of the biggest failures in LeBron James‘ career was his defeat by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA finals. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks past the Miami Heat and won his first-ever championship in his 13th season in the NBA. He is one of the most loyal players in NBA history and played with the Mavs for his entire career.

During his conversation with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the recent ALL THE SMOKE podcast, Nowitzki was asked if he had ever thought of exploring his options in free agency during his time with the Mavs. That’s when Dirk went into detail about a crucial decision that he made before winning his first and only championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.

Dirk Nowitzki wanted to be in Dallas

Dirk Nowitzki has been part of the Dallas Mavericks since his rookie season. Just like everyone else, he was signed to a 4-year rookie deal when he got to the NBA. Seeing the star potential and play of Nowitzki, the Mavericks signed him to a 6-year max deal.

So for the first 10 years of his career, he did not even get a chance to test out what free agency was like. The Mavericks were like a home to him, and the community took him as one of their own. Nowitzki did not even have an agent at the time because of this. But he had to decide in 2010 where he would want to be when his contract was up for an extension.

Nowitzki said, “I didn’t have an agent, so I just went over to Mark’s house, and we sat down on his couch, and you know, we just reminisced and talked for like two hours on what we have done and how fun this was. And I said, Okay, let’s run it back.“

Nowitzki signed a four-year contract worth $80 million in 2010. He could have signed for $96 million, but he took the pay cut for the team that helped them make more moves. But everything was worth it as the Mavericks went on an unbelievable run and won the championship the very next year in 2011.

Nowitzki’s sacrifice paid off against LeBron James

With Dirk Nowitzki taking less money than he could have, he opened up more cap flexibility for his team. This led to the Mavericks having the money to sign Peja Stojaković and Corey Brewer. They were great role players on the team.

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Nowitzki elevated his play during the playoffs and could lead his team to their only championship in franchise history, while overcoming the LeBron James-led Miami Heat in six games. Dirk’s future with the Mavs might have been different if he had not won the championship.

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What do you think of the Dallas Mavericks’s incredible championship run? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!