One door closes, another opens. Three stars left the stage, and their three replacements, their three emulators, seized the place in the NBA Finals that Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen wanted so desperately but could not have again. It was not so much an orderly succession of power as it was a theft of identity. An NBA Finals of LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant seemed inevitable beneath the magnificent 45 points from James that had buried the Celtics in Game 6 at Boston. [Watch & Read More]

During a recent radio interview with a Dallas sports talk radio station, Dirk Nowitzki was asked to talk about how much partying the Mavericks have done since winning the 2011 NBA Finals over the Heat a few weeks ago. And his answer was a little bit surprising.

"I actually think we partied harder in 2006 when we lost just to forget about it than we did now," Nowitzki said. "We've had some good nights so far...[But] in '06, Jet picked me up for the party bus almost every day, and we went somewhere just to make us forget and have a good time. We ended up in Vegas after three hard weeks." [Read More]

Ever since Mark Cuban came out and said that he wasn't interested in buying the Mavericks championship rings after their 2011 NBA Finals victory, there's been a lot of speculation about what the team will be wearing to celebrate their title.

During an interview with ESPN Radio Chicago yesterday, Mavs role player Brian Cardinal offered up a suggestion of his own. "Uh, anklets," Cardinal said. "We will be rocking these world championship anklets. It's going to be unbelievable—diamonds, rubies." [Read More]

One thing about taking gambles is that sometimes you lose and sometimes you lose big. Why do you think Las Vegas continues to make bank loads of money with dollar slot machines and free buffets? But when Birdman won this year's Super Bowl with a $1 million bet, shouldn't he have just been happy instead of doubling up and losing with a $2 million gamble on the Miami Heat defeating the Dallas Mavericks? [Read More]

Sunday night's 105-95 win in Miami made it official: Dirk Nowitzki(notes), a great player called a choke artist for much of his career, is now an NBA champion. It's been a long road for the best European player in NBA history, and he's finally at a point where no one can criticize him for having an incomplete career.

In most cases, you'd expect a player to celebrate a moment like this one by soaking in the moment on the court. However, an emotional Nowitzki declined a public celebration and ran off the court to gather his thoughts in the locker room with still 1.2 seconds showing on the clock. It was a very touching moment that the ABC TV crew was lucky enough to capture in the video above. [Read More]

We can understand LeBron James and Dwyane Wade wanting to be loose before Game 5 of the NBA Finals. But this video proves they may have been a little bit too loose before taking the court last night. In the clip, they make fun of Dirk Nowitzki for coughing on the court during Game 4—right in front of a group of reporters and cameramen. "Did y'all hear me cough?" Wade asks. "I think I'm sick."

[via SB Nation]

Lil Wayne's girlfriend is the only person in Dallas who had a better time at the American Airlines Center last night than Jason Terry. Ayo, Weezy: Better cuff your chick!

[via Boxden]