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The Dallas Mavericks have been NBA Champions for nearly four days, but today it really becomes official. Today hundreds of thousands of long-suffering Mavericks fans lined to streets to officially welcome their heroes home and celebrate an event 31 years in the making. Today is Parade Day in Dallas.

“We’ve been through a lot here in Dallas,” says Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki. “They really took me as one of theirs from day one, even though I was struggling when I first came to the NBA. They gave me standing ovations every time and we’ve been through a lot of ups and downs with the fans but they always had my back. I’m really happy for them, and this one is for them because it’s been so long. I’m just really happy for them, as well.”

“It’s great,” adds Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle. “It’s great for the city. It’s a very special team, a team that stood for some things that are really important to not only our city and to them, but to the game in general. Playing as a team, moving the ball, playing together, collective will, guts, all that stuff . . .I couldn’t be happier for them, I couldn’t be happier for Dirk, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, and I couldn’t be happier for the city.”

For two Mavericks, in particular, this moment is about more than just winning the 2011 NBA Championship, it’s about redemption. The Mavericks had a score to settle with the Miami HEAT, who beat them in the 2006 Finals, and winning it all against their old foes makes this moment that much sweeter for Dallas.

“Just seeing the faces of the Miami HEAT when we won … not only the players, but the fans,” explains Jason Terry. “Going through that arena and remembering what they did to us . . .to do it on their court. It would have been special doing it here in front of our fans, but on their court . . .redemption was so important. I had to play it up, didn’t use that as a motivating factor going in, but walking into that same locker room with those same ball boys, all of that played a factor.”

Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson was almost in tears as he talked about this special accomplishment for his team.

“I was sitting next to Ro (Blackman) on the plane on the way back from Miami and I asked him to pinch me. They can’t take this away from us, right? You really can’t put it into words, everything that our fans have been through. From the time me and my dad got here, the nine year death march in the wilderness, or whatever you want to call it, to the early years with Dirk, having him slug it out, and then to turn it around and cap it off like this is storybook stuff. You just can’t script something like that. In 2006, I can’t tell you how traumatic that was for our fan base and especially for the guys in our locker room. It was very difficult. Then, to get bounced in the first round the next year . . .it was about the lowest of the low. Now to have a second chance in life, you just don’t get those. When someone steals your car or your high school girlfriend, seldom do you get those opportunities back. The fact that we did, that we were able to lineup against the same opponent and get the job done, was redemption in every form, fashion and sense of the word.”

Like his team’s fans, Nelson was reluctant to even think about winning a championship, even as the final seconds of Game 6 ticked off and the score was final.

“I just did not allow myself to emotionally get my mind thinking about victory and it took it a long time for it to sink in for me. When you go through trauma like that, and our fans have been through it, it’s hard to put into words. You don’t want to open yourself up to those emotions, and that’s why I thought it was so cool for Mark to let Don Carter accept the trophy. It was a tribute to all of the great people who have put their blood and sweat and tears into this franchise. That was one of the neatest moments in sports that I’ve ever been around.”

The Mavericks’ postseason run has also been a source of redemption for Don Nelson, Sr., who left Dallas under controversial circumstances and has had a long-running feud with owner Mark Cuban over a number of issues. The championship has helped heal more than a few wounds, including that one.

“Dad was here during the first and second rounds of the playoffs and was terrific. Rick kept trying to get him to come to practices and stick his head in the locker room. Mark has been fantastic and all that old stuff is dead and buried. We’re one big happy family now. Dad really didn’t want to upset the momentum, and he made the right choice but he couldn’t be prouder of all of us.”

The 2011 NBA Championship represents redemption in so many ways for the Dallas Mavericks and their fans, and it’s great that it’s helped heal some old wounds off the court, as well. There’s a lot of work to be done this summer, with so many key free agents on the team, but for now this Mavericks team is celebrating the greatest accomplishment in team history, and one that puts them in the record books forever.

“When you’re in the city of Dallas, you’ve got to win,” says Carlisle. “It’s not just enough to be competitive. It’s not enough to just have a good year or to get to the Finals. You have to win the championship in whatever sport you’re in. This is a city that’s uncompromising that way, and it should be. It’s one of the reasons Dallas is such a great place to live and why it’s a prosperous city even when economic times aren’t the greatest. It’s why guys like Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Tony Dorset and Emmitt Smith and Mike Modano are put in this pantheon of people that are held in the highest regard. Now our guys are in that and they have earned it, they deserve it, and going forward it’s important that they carry themselves with the same kind of class that they showed while they were earning it.”

Let the parade begin!

Best NBA Team Ever?

In celebration of its 125th anniversary, in 2011, Sporting News is settling the score on the Great Sports Debates. This month’s debate puts to rest the argument of the NBA’s greatest teams of all time, with SN asking an All-Star panel of current and former coaches, players, executives and journalists to cast their votes. Led by Michael Jordan, the 1995-96 NBA champion Chicago Bulls earned the No. 1 spot.They won 72 regular-season games, the most all time, led the league with 105.2 points per game and were tops in both offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency.

Phil Jackson assistant Jim Cleamons said about the ’95-96 Bulls, “That team refused to lose. It was like, ‘Hey, we’re not supposed to lose.’ It hurt them every time they lost a game. That 72-10 record was their stamp on their quality of work and what they thought of each other.”

The NBA champion 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, a team that won a record 33 straight games on the backs of Jerry West, Gail Goodrich and Wilt Chamberlain, are No. 2. The 1986-87 Lakers championship team, featuring No. 1 overall draft picks Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mychal Thompson and James Worthy, is No. 3. Led by Larry Bird and four other future Hall of Famers, the 1985-86 Boston Celtics were NBA champions and make the list at No. 4. Anchored by Bill Russell, the NBA champion 1964-65 Celtics featured eight future Hall of Famers and ranks No. 5.

Coming in at No. 6 through 10: the 1966-67 76ers, 1982-83 76ers, 1970-71 Bucks, 1991-92 Bulls and 1988-89 Pistons.

The June 20 issue of Sporting News Magazine features Michael Jordan on the cover and is available on newsstands now. In addition to the NBA’s greatest teams, it also includes an NBA draft preview, a look into MLB’s fiercest rivalry, Reds vs. Cardinals, and a coaches survey about college football’s biggest issues.

Jet Walks The Walk

Dallas Mavericks sixth man Jason Terry has always been a talker, something he attributes to growing up in Seattle watching Sonics great Gary Payton. Payton was one of the great trash-talkers of the league, wearing opponents out with his mouth as much as with his trademark defense. Until now, however, much like his boyhood hero, Terry has been unable to back up his talk with an NBA Championship. This time around Jet’s talk translated into some pretty amazing play on the basketball court.

“I just have to keep going back to the faith, and then having a core group of support around me,” says Terry about his championship mentality. “I brought in a spiritual coach. I brought in a shooting coach. That support group around me allowed me to get through the hard times and adversity and be able to refocus and zone back in for that stretch run. It was a blessing in disguise to go through what we went through at the end of the season and it prepared us for that journey.”

Despite his ability to talk a good game, Terry hasn’t always backed his words with his actions. He’s often disappeared in the playoffs, withering when the pressure peaks. This year, however, the more pressure he felt the better he was, right up to scoring 27 points in Game 6 of the NBA Finals and earning Player of the Game honors as the Mavericks won their first championship.

“He was great,” says Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle. “All through the playoffs Jet’s all-around game was really the thing that was most important to our team. He’s such a great shooter and such a great scorer that people look at him and say he’s got to be the number two scorer, but our team always played better when he played solid defense, used the floor on offense, attack space, got other people involved, and stepped into open shots when they were there. People won’t forget some of the moments .  . .the first half performance in Game 6 of the Finals, the shooting performance in Game 4 against the Lakers . . .those kinds of things are breath-taking accomplishments and they don’t happen unless you’ve put in the work, you have the ability, and you have the guts to do it.”

“Jet’s been amazing,” adds Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki. “We’ve been through so much together . . .he even mentioned it in the fourth quarter the other day, he said ‘remember ’06,’ and that’s what it came down to. That’s what we did and he was phenomenal. Everything he does is full-throttle and that’s why we love him.”

Terry is a beloved member of the Dallas community, and not just for his contributions on the basketball court. Whether it’s coaching his young daughters’ basketball team (The Jets) or going out of his way to inspire and improve the lives of inner city kids, Terry has made Dallas his second home. Still, outside of Dallas, Terry takes his share of criticism for failing to lead the Mavericks back to the Finals.

{AUTHOR_BOX}”The failures and criticism make this sweeter,” says Terry. “Every second, every step of the way, for me, I always thought about everything that’s happened since 2005-06, and even before then. Losing to Phoenix in the second round after a huge mistake by me, letting (Steve) Nash pull up on us like that . . .all of that flashed before me. The night before Game 6 I thought about all of that, all that we’ve been through. Then, to go out there in the moment and perform the way we did on that stage . . .everything, all the failures, up to that moment was a motivating factor.”

If you’re around Terry for very long you soon come to understand that his game is based largely on hard work and confidence. He is truly one of the most confident people you could ever meet, whether that confidence is in himself or in the Dallas Mavericks as a team. But the hard work component is extremely, important, as well. Like so many of the Mavs, Terry had to dig a little deeper this season and find a way to perform better than he ever has before.

“I had to have total balance in everything,” he explains. “Spiritually I had to be right, physically, and mentally. I think that, for me, is where I took my game to another level. I knew if all those things lined up, my play would be there. That confidence in itself is why I was able to perform at a high level.”

When you think about it, confidence was huge for Terry as he joined the Mavericks in 2004-05. Steve Nash had just left town, meaning Terry was in the unenviable position of replacing one of the most popular players in the history of the team.

“I’ve never looked at it as trying to replace Nash. I just looked at it as a new start. I told Dirk, you’re Brad Davis, I’m Rolando Blackman, and maybe one day our jerseys will be up there in those rafters right next to them. Avery used to tell me every day in practice, ‘you know you’re the only point guard to ever lead the Mavs to the Finals.’ Now I can say I’ve won the Finals. We’re the only Mavericks ever.”

As for repeating, Terry isn’t quite ready to stake that claim, though he is clear about the only thing that can hold his team back.

“Only the lockout. The lockout is the only thing holding this team back. Hey, if they lock us out until January, I guess it will be a shorter journey to repeat. I know nobody’s going to pick us again next year, but we’ll love it. We like the underdog role, but if we have the same team coming back next year, we’re going to be tough to beat. … We’ll see. We’ll see. We’re going to just enjoy this moment right now. Everybody always does that, says they’re going to do it again . . .we’ll see what happens.”

For now, it’s all about this championship . . .this moment.

“I’m excited about the parade. I tasted success in 1997 as a young kid (when the University of Arizona won the NCAA Championship with Terry at the helm), and it was fun, but this really hasn’t sunk in yet. I can only imagine getting on that float, hoisting up that trophy, cigar in my mouth, wearing this robe . . .I’m going to enjoy it.”

As well he should. For Terry and the Mavericks today’s parade has been a long time coming, and the great stories will be told for years to come.

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