Puerto Rican point guard José Juan Barea revealed the ins and outs of the 2011 final, where his now former team, the Dallas Mavericks, defeated the Miami Heat of LeBron James and his company in six games.
Barea spoke about that and more, during a review of his career on New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick’s podcast, along with Tommy Alter.
“It was great to see how he prepared for that year. He (Dirk Nowitzki) isn’t going to say it, but he hated the Heat, LeBron, Dwayne Wade and Cris Bosh,” said Barea.
“I couldn’t stand them. He doesn’t talk much, he leads by example. But that particular year, in the dead times and the first half, he always took the lead,” he added.
For game 4 of the 2011 final, leading 2-1, a video came to light showing LeBron and Wade making fun of Nowitzki’s cold. They paid for the expensive spot, as the Mavericks won the next three games and won the first title in their history as an organization.
“When LeBron and Wade made fun of him, it really hurt. He’ll never say it, but he saw the video and it bothered him. That was the ‘extra’ he needed to raise his level even further and the series. to finish, ”he said. The German power forward eventually won the MVP of the Final.
Barea was one of the protagonists of that ‘gares’ rotation, which included Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. The Mavericks announced a few weeks ago that they would be leaving the Puerto Rican after 11 seasons in Dallas. Barea is still waiting for a bid for an NBA team but didn’t arrive, saying he would love to see action abroad and even in the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN).