DeShawn Stevenson feels Dallas Mavericks have not received due credit for becoming NBA Champions
NBA locked out its players two weeks after the 2010-2011 season came to an end which literally robbed the Dallas Maverick of all the afterglow of becoming the NBA Champions for the first time in their 31 years of franchise history.
After years of constant struggle, Mavericks finally landed their first ever NBA title last season by knocking over the Miami Heat. However, the team never had the chance to truly celebrate their victory as the league headed into a showdown with the players over monetary issues. Even the championship rings, which should have been given to Dallas Mavericks three weeks ago in the opening night ceremony of the 2011-2012 season are still with league.
And DeShawn Stevenson is not happy about this fact and the lockout, which according to him has “robbed the Mavericks of their moment of validation.”
The 30-year-old shooting guard believes that the Mavs have not received the due credit of defeating the mighty Heat. DeShawn Stevenson argued that despite of losing in the NBA Finals, Miami Heat superstars have received all the media and commercial attention when Mavericks superstars were supposed to earn all the respect for working so hard for the title.
“I haven’t seen a Dirk (Nowitzki) commercial, I haven’t seen a Jason Kidd commercial, Jason Terry commercial. But I’ve seen a LeBron McDonald’s commercial. Dwyane Wade is on a T-Mobile commercial. I just feel like we don’t get the respect as a team that worked hard to win a championship.” DeShawn Stevenson said.
Under these circumstances, Dallas Mavericks veteran combo forward Shawn Marion has taken a more pragmatic approach about his team winning the first title in a pretty odd situation. The fact remains that Dallas Mavericks are the Champions and if the entire season is cancelled as a result of the Lockout, Marion believes that Dallas will earn a pyrrhic victory.
“We are the champs. We got the hardware. Well … we haven’t received it yet, but we’re the champs. We’re going to go down as the longest champs in NBA history. Marion said.
The statement from Stevenson comes after he laid into the NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter for delaying the decertification. The lockout is on the cusp of crossing its 150th day and frustration seems to be taking a toll on the Mavs guard.
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