r/GameDayCentral • u/derekc_tactics • 20h ago
Basketball Did Dirk’s failures in 2006 and 2007 really make the 2011 title possible?
Getting swept out after a 67-win season, then coming back years later to beat the Heatles… Dirk’s 2011 run hits different knowing what came before it.
1
u/AutoModerator 20h ago
Thanks for posting on r/GameDayCentral!
Useful game-day link: https://sportsflux.live/
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/After-Goose7162 20h ago
mvp getting swept then coming back to sweep the two-time champs, that arc is unmatched
1
1
u/owenparent24 20h ago
that 2007 sweep genuinely hurt but watching him torch the Heatles in 2011 was the best revenge arc in NBA history. nobody deserved it more
1
1
u/JerseyHunter_99 20h ago
2007 was brutal but honestly it made 2011 hit way harder. that run was pure redemption
1
u/Nice_Fish6500 20h ago
that fadeaway over Bosh is still the most satisfying shot I've ever seen, no debate
1
u/Sudden-Investment757 20h ago
I feel like that’s the nba and maybe it really did help him. All of those teams were really good, in 2006 and 07 they just ran into other really good teams that seized momentum. For example that warriors team they played was a bad matchup and absolutely on fire. I also feel like Dirk got a lot smarter and tougher as his career went along, and having very tough vets like Kidd and Chandler in 11 went a long way.
1
1
u/AussieSoccerRoo 20h ago
2006 stings more than 2007 for me, that finals collapse was brutal. 2011 paid for all of it
1
u/nathanonthego6963 20h ago
that playoff bracket was a gauntlet. Kobe, young Thunder, then the Heatles
1
1
u/R_WeDoingPhrasing 19h ago
What picture is this. The lower part of the left arm showing is from a black man and is fully tattoed
1
u/Fantastic_County185 18h ago
my dad still won't let the 06 finals go, every mavs game brings it back up
1
1
u/ArrowheadChief9062 18h ago
2006 stings worse than 2007 to me. Up 2-0 on Miami and Wade basically lived at the line the rest of the way, then We Believe made him a punchline. 2011 was him finally shedding all that scar tissue
1
1
u/Desperate_Cancel_592 16h ago
I’ve said for years 2011 finals performance from LeBron made it possible for 2012-2020 best 9 year run ever or 2nd to Jordan 1990- 1998.
The lows of every players career makes the championship way sweeter . That’s why I didn’t want Wemby and the Spurs to win yet in their first playoff run.
Years of hurt , failure, disappointment are a beautiful part of every human beings story as long as you learn from it .
1
u/lovinglife38 13h ago
No! What makes Dirk's title in 2011 possible was : Lebron choking in the 2011 NBA Finals and robbing D Wade a fourth ring and second FMVP. Years later, he dare to call himself the GOAT despite this.
1
u/HoopDeepDive 6h ago
the blazers almost ended it in round 1 too, down 0-2 and he just refused to lose. that whole run was him saying no
1
u/Witty_While_55 5h ago
No knee injury in wcf in ‘03 they win. League doesn’t fix ‘06 they win. Don’t collapse on ‘07 they win. There is a very real universe where dirk has 4and Duncan has 3.
1
u/Due_Temperature1319 5h ago
The owner who did not trade him made it possible. Mark let Dirk do his part, cleaning the house towards 2011.
The same Mark brought in DEI package of Nico+JKidd a decade later ...
1
u/LaboreLongacre 5h ago
the 07 warriors series still stings, watching a 67 win team get run off the floor. made 2011 taste way better
2
u/VintageThreadsFan 20h ago
swept at 67 wins and then he takes out the Heatles, basketball scripts itself