Jason Terry shared new stories from Dallas’ 2011 championship run, including Dirk Nowitzki’s illness, the all black Game 6 plan and the tattoo that predicted it all.
Jason Terry sat down with Bleacher Report this week to revisit the Dallas Mavericks’ 2011 championship run in full detail, and the stories he shared revealed why that team still feels different more than a decade later.
The highlights from that Finals series against Miami have been replayed endlessly over the years, but Terry focused on the moments fans never saw. The details behind Dirk Nowitzki’s illness in Game 4, the emotional edge inside the locker room and the belief that carried Dallas through the series all resurfaced during the conversation.
The most striking story centered around Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Dallas entered the night trailing the Miami Heat 2-1 in the series, needing a win to avoid falling behind 3-1 in a deficit no NBA team had ever overcome to win a championship at the time.
When Terry arrived at the arena that morning, he immediately noticed something was wrong. Dirk Nowitzki sat in the training room with a towel over his head while dealing with severe cold shakes caused by a sinus infection. Terry said it was the first time he could remember Nowitzki skipping his normal pregame shooting routine. At halftime, it became public that Dirk was playing through a fever reportedly reaching 102 degrees.
“I’m already in my mind going through it,” Terry said. “He needs me. I got to show up.”
Terry also described how pregame media interactions added fuel to the fire. A quote surfaced suggesting Dirk had criticized Terry’s play earlier in the series. Terry said that whether the quote was accurate did not matter; it gave him extra motivation. Through three quarters, Nowitzki struggled badly after opening the game strongly. He missed nine of his final 10 shots during one stretch and looked physically exhausted. Then the fourth quarter arrived.
Nowitzki scored 10 of his 21 points in the final period, including the iconic right-handed layup with 14.4 seconds remaining that secured Dallas’ 86-83 win. The Mavericks outscored Miami 21-9 over the game’s final 10 minutes.
“Sick or not, he’s coming to play,” Terry said. “We’re going to show up.”
The following morning, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade mocked Dirk’s illness during shootaround by pretending to cough and wheeze in front of cameras. Dallas responded by winning Game 5 later that night, 112-103, with Dirk scoring 29 points. Terry also remembered watching Miami celebrate during the series before the championship was secured.
“They celebrating all in front of the bench,” Terry said. “I’m looking like, first of all, nobody likes to show off. Second of all, they not taking this from us in this moment.”
Before Game 6 in Miami, Terry introduced another idea that became part of Mavericks history. He instructed the team to arrive dressed entirely in black because he wanted the night to feel like a funeral for the Heat.
“It ain’t gonna be ours,” Terry said.
Even Terry admitted he was unsure whether teammates would actually follow through. When the bus arrived at the arena, every single Mavericks player stepped off wearing black.
“Okay, we’re locked in,” Terry remembered thinking.
Then there is perhaps the most famous symbol of that entire championship run: Terry’s Larry O’Brien Trophy tattoo. Before the 2010-11 season even began, Terry had the championship trophy tattooed on his right bicep. Terry said he still looks at the tattoo every morning.
“I look at it every morning when I wake up because it’s something I manifested,” Terry said. “I actually spoke it into existence.”
Dallas closed out Miami in six games, with Nowitzki averaging 26 points and 9.7 rebounds while winning Finals MVP on the way to the Mavericks' first championship.
