2011 Dallas Mavericks vs. 2015 Golden State Warriors

     As the Golden State Warriors finished off LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games to win the NBA Finals, it was the first NBA title for the team since 1975. But for some reason, to me, it felt all too familiar, like it had happened more recently. 

That’s because their story has many similarities to another team that won the championship. A team that won in 2011. The Dallas Mavericks.

Of course, no two teams are ever the same, even year to year within the same franchise. The 2011 Mavericks and 2015 Warriors have a lot of unique qualities, but there are a ton of mind-blowing similarities as well. And it starts from the top.

The 2011 Mavericks were led by head coach Rick Carlisle, a guy who was in a broadcasting chair with ESPN right before he joined the team.

Similarly, the 2015 Warriors are led by Steve Kerr, a guy who was a broadcaster with TNT prior to joining the team.

Rick Carlisle won the NBA championship (once) as a player and 2011 was his first Finals win as a head coach.
Steve Kerr won the NBA championship (five times) as a player and 2015 was his first Finals win as a head coach.

Even the situations the two men inherited were shockingly similar. Neither head coach was required to build the team from scratch.

The season prior to Carlisle joining the team, the 2007-2008 Mavericks had gone 51-31 under the leadership of Avery Johnson and made the playoffs. However, they had an early exit in the first round, which led to Johnson being fired.

Just last season, under the leadership of Mark Jackson, the Warriors went… yes, exactly the same record as the Johnson-led Mavs, 51-31, and also had a first round playoff exit.

Now let’s get to the playoffs. In 2011, the Mavs went 16-5 in the playoffs. In the four playoff series, they had one sweep (2^nd round), one 4-1 series win (Conference Finals), and two 4-2 series wins (1^st round and NBA Finals).

Fast forward to 2015. The Warriors had an identical 16-5 record through the playoffs. They also had one sweep (1^st round), one 4-1 series win (Conference Finals), and two 4-2 series wins (2^nd round and NBA Finals).

In the NBA Finals, both teams faced the self-proclaimed and widely regarded “best player on the planet” in LeBron James.

In 2011, the Mavs were down 2-1 to LeBron and the Miami Heat.

In 2015, the Warriors were down 2-1 to LeBron and the Cavs.

After the Mavs fell behind 2-1, Carlisle made a change in the starting lineup by inserting JJ Barea. The Mavs then went on to rattle off three straight wins and win the championship in six games.

After the Warriors fell behind 2-1, Kerr made a change in the starting lineup by inserting Andre Iguodala. The Warriors won three straight, capturing the championship in six games.

In 2011, the Mavs won the closeout game on the road in Miami and scored 105 points.

In 2015, the Warriors won the closeout game on the road in Cleveland and scored 105 points.

Lastly, for what it’s worth, both the 2011 Mavs and 2015 Warriors were led by a superstar that was extremely likeable by the average sports fan in Dirk Nowitzki and Steph Curry.

Despite the many similarities, there were plenty of big differences as well. The Miami Heat team in 2011 was stacked with superstars in LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. The Cavs in 2015 were depleted, playing without the services of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and Anderson Varejao. LeBron in 2011 had arguably his worst NBA Finals in 2011 of his six attempts. In 2015, he had arguably his best, evident by the fact he garnered more series MVP votes than Steph Curry and, well, you could just peek at his ridiculous stats.

Anyways, comparisons like this won between the 2011 Dallas Mavericks and the 2015 Golden State Warriors always make for a good sports conversation. And looking back, there really were a lot of similarities.

The most important similarity for both of those teams: They finished on top of the NBA world.