Jason Terry will remove Larry O'Brien Trophy tattoo if Dallas Mavericks lose the NBA Finals
The Dallas Mavericks went to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history in 2006. In that series they lost to a Miami Heat side led by Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal. Since then, the Mavericks have failed consistently
in the playoffs and have never been able to reach the heights of 2006, leading to many people labelling them as strugglers in the playoffs.
However, the Mavericks’ guard Jason Terry kept his belief and predicted a Dallas championship before the 2010-11 season started. So much so, that the 33-year-old got a tattoo of the Larry O’Brien Trophy etched on his right bicep.
Even his teammates had a laugh at that time but, for him, the tattoo was the reminder of their goals for the post season. Terry described the incident,
"Everybody laughed and they thought it was a joke at the time," "When they actually see me get it, they were, 'This boy is serious.' And our whole talk and conversation was about right now, about us getting to this point and winning
it all."
Terry told the reporters on Sunday that he is a superstitious person and he would remove the tattoo, if Dallas fail to win the title against the Miami Heat in the league finals. The best-of-seven NBA finals series starts on Tuesday,
31 May 2011 in Miami. This is the second NBA finals appearance for the Mavericks, the first obviously being in the fateful 2006 campaign.
Dallas' sixth man, who’s has established himself as the best player coming off the bench in the league, admitted that it will be painful for him to get rid of the tattoo. “For me, it is something I have to sleep with, something
I wake up with.” “I definitely know it is going to hurt worse if I have to take this thing off."
However, in case the Mavericks do win the NBA title, “Jet” will still require some needle time as he is determined to fill in the date of the championship in the tattoo.
The Mavericks have an excellent chance to make Terry’s dream a reality, as they have been all the momentum. With the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and J.J. Barea patrolling the front court, their attack is almost unstoppable
while their defence is very solid now with the inclusion of Tyson Chandler.
Terry and forward Dirk Nowitzki are the only surviving players from the Mavs’ last trip to Finals. The German sharpshooter, Nowitzki is averaging 32.2 points in this series, including 11.8 in the final quarters. Terry, on the other
hand, has the ability to play a critical role for his team, as his performance in the playoffs has been much better the regular season. He is averaging 18.3 points, 3.8 assists, 2.2 treys, and 1.1 steals in the series and is a major threat from downtown.
So come Tuesday night, Jason Terry will be fighting to keep his tattoo.
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