Who Are Your Five Favorite Dallas Mavericks?

Every night when scrolling up and down our Twitter feeds, we all run into those tweets that are being shared around like crazy and make us think of our own response to it.

No, not anything having to do with a funny cat video or Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving and others having fun at Harrison Barnes‘ wedding making fun of the workout videos LeBron James has been posting all summer.

Steph Curry mocks Lebron James workout videos as Kyrie Irving laughs hysterically. Things are fine in Cleveland pic.twitter.com/8926xrPOOo

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) July 30, 2017

The type of tweet being discussed here is the one that burst onto the scene last night and we all saw about thirty people give their own list throughout the day:

Alright Twitter: List your Top 5 favorite athletes of your life. Not best, favorites. Can mean most entertaining to watch, personality, etc.

— Johnny Carver (@CarverJohnny) July 29, 2017

Pretty good question to throw out there.  Adding the qualifiers of not necessarily the best, but just your favorite, you know?  It doesn’t make sense out loud, but it clicks internally.

For the sake of covering the Mavs here at Dallas Sports Fanatic, what if I (@DylanDuell) came up with my five favorite Mavericks of my time as a fan?

FYI, I became a Mavs fan during the 2001-2002 season when I was in third grade.  So all you Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper, etc. fans out there need to relax now before you get upset when they’re not listed later.

Dirk Nowitzki

No reason to try to dramatically build up suspense by putting Dirk last.  The man is the Dallas Mavericks for me, a generation of basketball fans, and probably even one or two to come.  

I don’t know that I’d be as much of a Mavs fan if it weren’t for Dirk Nowitzki.  The man has delivered everything to this franchise.  Regular seasons success, All-Star appearances, an MVP award, countless dramatic playoff victories and the honor of being the only player to truly lead a team of mine to a championship in the 16 or so years I’ve been a die-hard sports fan.

Whether we have one, two or ten more years of Dirk on the court, we all know it’s our biggest basketball blessing we need to appreciate.

Photo: Keith Allison/Flickr

J.J. Barea

The “Streakin’ Puerto Rican” is one of the ultimate underdog stories in Mavs history.  Undrafted out of Northeastern University.  His listed height of 6 foot even will be debated by anyone.  He’s never been relied upon as the Mavs starting point guard, but he has found a way.

J.J., almost on a first name — er, initials– only basis with fans like Dirk, is always going to be remembered as a vital part of the 2011 NBA Finals victory after coach Rick Carlisle inserted him into the starting lineup for game 4 with the Mavs trailing the series 2-1.  The Mavs won the next three games and the title.  Have no fear, J.J. is here.

Rajon Rondo

Kidding.

 

Jason Terry

The JET was just a man who loved to shoot the basketball and spread his wings.   Essentially acquired as Steve Nash’s replacement in the summer of 2004, it took a while for Mavs fans to really warm up to Terry.  As the years went on and the clutch shots went in, Terry won the hearts of all MFFL’s.

His patented mid-range-jump-shot-in-transition was incredibly frustrating, but he seemed to hit it as much as anyone.  His incredible kill shot at the end of the game 5 of the 2011 NBA Finals is one of the two or three biggest shots in franchise history. 

The man’s confidence was never an issue.  Even getting a tattoo of the Larry O’Brien trophy on his bicep before the 2010-2011 championship.  It has been odd to see him on a number of different teams in the five years since he left Dallas, but his #31 deserves to be hanging from the rafters one day.  I’ll be there cheering when it does.

 

Kris Humphries

Got him before the Kardashian curse.  Again, kidding about him being one of the favorites.

Tyson Chandler

A list of other centers who have been key starters for the Mavericks during my time as a fan: Raef Lafrentz, Shawn Bradley, Erick Dampier, DeSagana Diop, Brendan Haywood, Chris Kaman and Sam Dalembert.  All of which had respectable moments as starting centers, but none had the impact that Tyson Chandler has had in his two different seasons in Dallas.

Chandler’s swagger, athleticism and presence has always been something I’ve wanted the Mavs to have on their team.  It’s no surprise the one time they won a championship came with him on the team.  The franchise did him dirty by twice letting him leave in free agency, one can only hope he eventually makes a return before his career is over.

Steve Nash

Dirk’s best friend.  Nashty.  The leader of the run and gun Mavs.  Before he was the back-to-back MVP we all saw with the Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash played at an All-Star level alongside the young and spry version of Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas.

The flowing hair and licking fingers before free throws was always what drew me to Nash.  The elite level point guard play was an added bonus.  It was sad to see him go in the summer of 2004, but I think it’s safe to say that the Mavericks don’t make the NBA Finals in 2006 or eventually win a title around a costly Dirk Nowitzki/Steve Nash duo.  Not enough money left for defense.  *Ducks*

Who are your five favorite Dallas Mavericks of all-time?