A year ago, the Mavericks were the laughing stock, even the shame, of the NBA for deliberately losing games at the end of the season. The reason ? Dallas wanted to keep its Draft choice which was protected from places 1 to 10. In the fight for 11th place with the Bulls, the Mavs had done everything not to win certain matches.
Pure and harsh “tanking” which cost them dearly: a fine of 750,000 dollars. But which also allowed them to recover Derek Lively II in the Draft, and we can consider today that it was a masterstroke!
“It doesn’t happen often to go from the lottery to the final”, recognizes Jason Kidd. “But we really thought we had the elements to do it. Sometimes you step back to see what you have, to be able to incorporate D-Live (Dereck Lively) into this project. We were able to sign free agents, (Dante) Exum and (Derrick) Jones and add other players like Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington. This put us in a position to be competitive with the best teams in the league. »
Emulating the 2008 Celtics and 2022 Warriors
Clearly, last season, the Mavericks did not have the profile of a “lottery team”, but the integration of Kyrie Irving took a little longer than expected, and Mark Cuban had medium-term views.
“I would say patience is key”estimates Daniel Gafford, who arrived during the seasons. “When Kyrie came here, we said Luka wasn't going to work well with him. It is clear that they are working quite well at the moment, and anyone who says otherwise should have their eyes checked. »
Patience paid off, as did the noses of the leaders to seek out Daniel Gafford, but also PJ Washington in February. A double exchange which shook up the level of the team, and which allowed the Mavericks to become the 9th team to go from the Lottery to the Finals in one season, since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976.
But the fifth to achieve this over the last five campaigns…
TEAMS GO FROM LOTTERY TO FINALS IN ONE YEAR
1976-77 | Portland (Champion)
2001-02 | Brooklyn
2007-08 | Boston (Champion)
2014-15 | Cleveland
2019-20 | LA Lakers (Champion)
2019-20 | Miami
2020-21 | Phoenix
2021-22 | Golden State (Champion)
2023-24 | Dallas
