During Dallas Mavericks training camp last summer, Jason Kidd talked about the makeup of the Mavs and their potential to be a special team.

That special team is now the NBA’s champion.


The 2011 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks pose with Jason Kidd hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy (Getty Images).

As the final seconds of the 2011 NBA Finals wound down with the Mavericks leading by 10, Shawn Marion met J-Kidd at half court and handed the ball to the future hall-of-famer.

It was only fitting that the veteran point guard, who had handled the rock all season long to the lead the Mavericks to that point, the one who was the only member of the team drafted by Dallas, should be the one holding the ball when the Mavs officially became champions.

For the first time in 17 years and after three tries, No. 2 could finally hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

"It has been an unbelievable journey," Kidd said. "I have been here twice. The third time was the charm. I always hoped to get another opportunity."

With their 105-95 victory over the Heat in Game 6 on Sunday night, the Mavericks won the NBA Finals four games to two. In the process, Jason became the oldest guard to ever start for an NBA title team and the second oldest starter ever on a championship team. J-Kidd, as quoted by The New York Post’s Mike Vaccaro, said that winning was everything it had been billed to be:

"I always wondered what this would feel like," Kidd said before allowing his bashful smile to broaden. "And it feels as good as I always hoped it would."

Jason played outstanding throughout the game on both ends of the floor—as has been the norm for him throughout the playoffs this season. No. 2 scored nine points, on 2-of-3 shooting beyond the arc and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He added eight assists, four rebounds, one block and stifled Heat guard Dwyane Wade for most of the night. On the night, the Mavs were an incredible +18 points with Jason on the floor.

Led by a seemingly rejuvenated Lebron James, Miami got off to a hot start in Game 6 with their eyes locked on staving off elimination. But J-Kidd and the Mavs continued to plug away.

No. 2 made his first mark on the offense in familiar fashion at the three-minute mark of the first quarter, when he found Brian Cardinal for a three-pointer. That shot put the Mavs ahead for the first time in the game, 23-22.

Jason followed that with an assist to Shawn Marion moments later. Then, after grabbing a defensive board, No. 2 dished to Jason Terry for a short jumper that pushed the Dallas lead to three points, 27-24, with two minutes remaining in the first. By the end of the opening period, the Mavs led 32-27.

After a breather, Jason got back to work late in the second when he fed Terry twice over the final two minutes to help the Mavs maintain a two-point lead heading into the locker room.

No. 2 scored his first bucket midway through the third with a triple from just above the elbow. Then, with the Heat attempting a comeback, he pushed them back, sinking his final triple of the series, despite a defender in his face, with just 47 seconds remaining in the third. That three put the Mavs ahead by nine, 81-72, with just 12 minutes separating them from the franchise’s first NBA Title.


Jason drives to the basket against Miami’s LeBron James during Game 6.

In the fourth, Miami cut their deficit to seven, but Dallas managed to maintain their cushion. They sealed the victory when Jason came up with his final assist of the season — a strong feed to Dirk Nowitzki, who was streaking into the lane. Dirk finished with a left-handed layup, which put the Mavs ahead, 103-92, with just 29 seconds remaining.

Jason added points number 104 and 105, the final two of a magical season, with two free throws.

"I can put it into words, it’s like a dream right now," J-Kidd said after the game. I’m just so happy for my teammates. They showed so much character throughout the season when we lost Dirk and we lost Caron, we could have easily just fallen off the map. Everybody would have said ‘That’s Dallas.’ Everybody stayed together. Think don’t always go the way you want, but we just kept fighting all season.

THE DAM BREAKS
With Jason at the helm, it was only a matter of time before the Mavericks found a way to attack and defeat what had been a vaunted Miami defense throughout the playoffs.


J-Kidd and the Mavericks ran their offense with persistence until they broke through on the Heat.

After pouring in 112 points in the Game 5 victory and shooting 56 percent from the field and 68 percent from beyond the arc, the Mavs had an equally impressive performance on Sunday, sinking 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from beyond the arc.

Jason said after Game 6 that the Mavericks were confident in their defense all series and once they started seeing results on the offensive end, the points came naturally.

"I think it all turned when we started making shots," J-Kidd said. "I hate to say that, but our defense was consistent throughout the whole series. When we started making shots in that Game 5, when we were making threes, we felt that hopefully was the time the dam could break and we could keep building on that."

The Mavericks ended up using their biggest strength, ball movement, to expose Miami’s help defense.

"That was our theory all season, multiple passes," Jason said. "In this league if you make more than two passes, guys are going to give up. If we can make that three, it’s just that that much easier. Our whole thing was ‘don’t take too many tough shots, because if you make that extra pass, somebody is going to get open.’ That means multiple guys are touching it so you can’t just load up on one guy."

According to No. 2, it was simply a matter of understanding the Heat’s operation on the defensive end of the floor:

"I think the big thing is understanding the Heat and the way they play defense. They’re a big help team. And they over help a lot of times," he said. "We just felt early in the series we were getting great looks. We just couldn’t make a shot. And as the series went on, we felt if we kept moving the ball, we’re going to get those same shots, and those shots were going to start to go in for us.

"We felt, we’re a confident group, that this is the way we’re going to play and we’re going to continue to play until we find a way to win."

THE GLUE
The Mavericks went an incredible 8-2 on the road during the playoffs and were a perfect 4-0 in closeout games. Jason’s teammates were quick to point out that he was the key to the franchise’s first-ever NBA championship.

"He kept us calm throughout this entire thing," said Mavericks center Tyson Chandler. "We went through some tough times. But when you look at Jason Kidd, he’s so calm. No matter if you’re up 10, down 15, he has the same demeanor."

Dirk Nowitzki, the NBA Finals MVP, took time after the game to laud J-Kidd for his defense and the consistency he provided for the Mavs.

"I’m happy for Kidd," Nowitzki said. "What a warrior he is at 38, chasing the most athletic players in this league out there, doing a great job on them, and also leading our squad. He’s been in this league forever and had two chances. I’m so glad we could make this happen for him."

But Jason paid tribute to his teammates after the game, noting it was they who guided him to this point and made him want to be a better player each day

"My teammates, their character and their will to come every day and work to get better, they deserve all the credit," he said. "I’m just happy to be at the right place at the right time.

"When you surround yourself with positive guys, young guys that keep you young. And when you look at Jet, you look at Dirk, these guys can shoot the ball with the best of them. So that was my challenge, that I wanted to compete and to help my team."

NEXT UP
Jason and the Mavs traveled back to Dallas this morning, and will soon take part in the customary parade of champions.

Soon Jason will receive his first-ever NBA championship ring, or, as Mark Cuban told Mavs Blog’s John Machota, something of that nature:

"It’s tradition. A team wins a championship and everyone in the organization gets a ring to commemorate the achievement.

Over the last several years, the championship rings for professional sports teams have become larger and larger. So, having Mark Cuban as the Mavericks team owner, one would think that the Mavs would have the largest ring ever assembled.

But that’s not the case.

Cuban revealed Sunday night on NBA.com that he has something different in mind.

"Rings are old school," Cuban said. "Rings are done. It’s time to take it to the next level and do something different."

CELEBRATE A CHAMPION
The 17-year journey to the title has been an arduous one for Jason and he couldn’t have done it without the support of his fans everywhere.

So we want all those fans to join in the celebration and become a permanent part of JasonKidd.com

Check out the "Celebrate a Champion" page and post your celebratory thoughts, photos, drawings — anything you want to share to convey your excitement about Jason winning the title.

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