Rick Carlisle’s time with the Dallas Mavericks has come to an end.
Rick Carlisle — who led Dallas to the 2011 NBA championship — informed Mavericks owner Mark Cuban today that he won't be returning as coach next season, Carlisle told ESPN. Carlisle had two years left on his contract. He spent 13 seasons as Mavericks coach.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 17, 2021
He served as their head coach since 2008.
Carlisle was a fixture of the Mavericks franchise.
Unfortunately, he has left the team.
There were some lows, but a lot of highs during his 13 seasons with the franchise.
The ending of this relationship seemed odd.
There have been recent rumblings of turmoil within the organization.
That includes not knowing who the real GM was at any given time.
And the fact Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis are constantly clashing over the ball.
Carlisle believed it was the perfect time to jump off of a potential sinking ship.
However, before we speculate as to why he left, or where he is heading to next, let’s look at the best moments he had during his run with the Mavericks.
3. 2009 First Round Vs Spurs
The biggest rival during this time for the Mavericks were the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs were already at this time a four-time NBA champion.
They beat the Mavericks already a few times in the postseason.
The Mavericks had made it to the Finals after defeating the Spurs in the Conference Finals, but ended up losing to the Miami Heat.
Now under Carlisle, this was his first time against the Spurs in the playoffs.
The Mavericks had a good season, but the Spurs were coming in as the third seed.
However, Manu Ginobili was out for the series.
The Mavericks took advantage of the injury.
They ended up winning the series 4-1 and were able to slay the dragon in the Spurs.
2. 2011 Second Round Vs Lakers
The 2011 Mavericks didn’t have extremely high expectations going into the playoffs.
In fact, they were looked at as the one lower seed that would be upset in the first round.
However, that did not happen and they went on to advance to the second round.
Their opponent in that round were the back-to-back defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers were dominant during this time as they also made three straight NBA Finals.
Expectations were for the Lakers to make it back to the Finals and face LeBron James and the Miami Heat.
However, the Mavericks and Carlisle came in with a great plan and won the series.
They did not just win the series, but they swept the Lakers.
Carlisle was able to out-coach the legend, Phil Jackson.
This was during a great run that led to something historic.
1. Winning The Title In 2011
One thing that never happened in the history of the Mavericks was them winning a NBA championship.
2011 was supposed to be no different.
That was until Carlisle instilled faith into this team and they went on an amazing run.
In the NBA Finals, they were faced with having to beat the newly formed Heat.
With James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh being the new unstoppable force; there was no hope for the Mavericks.
That didn’t stop them from trying.
They ended up finding a way to win the series and be crowned champions.
Carlisle was an astounding coach that loved this organization.
Rick Carlisle statement to ESPN: pic.twitter.com/zdKA8sWa4Y
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 17, 2021
This championship with him at the helm will always be remembered.
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