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News, Blog and GuidesThe Dallas Mavericks advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011, and now the five seed in the West is eyeing the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Dane ArlauckasdfinesttweetsUpdate: Jun 6th, 2024 12:57 EDT0
Jesse JohnsonUSA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
If you asked anyone at the beginning of the season who would have been the favorite to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals, not many people outside of Dallas would have told you the Mavericks. It’s not the the Mavs were projected to be a bad team, but there was so much talent in the West that they were overlooked for essentially the entire season.
Everyone else getting stronger
It was an offseason that saw the strong get stronger in the West. Teams put together championship caliber teams as they aimed to knock the defending champion Denver Nuggets off their throne. While Denver kept hold of their core, Phoenix brought in Bradley Beal to join Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Golden State made moves, bringing in Chris Paul hoping to inject a bit of life to the aging Warriors, and the LA Clippers poached James Harden from the Sixers early in the season to add to an already loaded conference that featured Anthony Davis, LeBron and the Lakers and two up and coming teams are going to give the West hell in the next coming years.
BREAKING: The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed on a trade to send guard James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/wAyuJKMfAw
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 31, 2023
With the OKC Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves battling the Nuggets all year long for the top spot in the conference, the rest of the pack was chasing home court in the first round with the fourth and final pick. That went to the Clippers who had an impressive run in the middle of the season, but they would fall off towards the end as Kawhi Leonard’s injury problems reappeared at the worst possible time.
Clips edge Mavs for 4th spot
The Clippers would take on the fifth seeded Mavs in the first round of the playoffs, as both teams met at a crossroads in their season. The Clips stumbled into the postseason while the Mavs rattled off 15 of their final 19 regular season games and just missed out on home court. They lost Game 1, but would down the Clips in six games, leading to their match up with the top seeded Thunder in the Conference Semifinals.
Dallas took care of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder only to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves who were fresh off a series in which they dethroned the defending champions. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving made light work of the young, but inexperienced Wolves setting the five seed up with the top team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics.
"The Western Conference champions are the Dallas Mavericks!"What a moment.@chime // #OneForDallas #MFFL pic.twitter.com/pE3HIWrifA
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 31, 2024
Boston has been a favorite to get to the Finals out of the East all season, and they haven’t needed to break stride in the playoffs. They earned home court with a 64-18 record and have bounced their opponents out of the playoffs in no more than five games in each of their first three series. Now they have a chance to win the 18th title in franchise history, but will have to get through the Mavs who would be one of the lowest seeds to win the NBA title in league history.
Houston make history in 1995
The lowest seed to ever win the NBA title was the Houston Rockets back in the 1994/95 season. They had just won the championship, and their title defense season didn’t exactly go as planned. The Hakeem Olajuwon led Rockets went just 47-35 after making a midseason trade for Clyde Drexler that didn’t end up paying dividends until the playoffs.
On this day in 1995 we won our second NBA Championship.Starting as the 6th seed and finishing as champions we made one of the most difficult title runs in NBA history. “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion!” 🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/XlfbpqVXJi
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) June 14, 2023
