Brendan Haywood admittedly got used to earning his points by grabbing an offensive rebound and taking it back to the basket, mostly with jump hooks. While there's nothing wrong about it, the UNC alum had to alter his muscle memory when he joined the Dallas Mavericks .
According to Haywood, Coach Rick Carlisle personally instructed him to stop taking those jump hooks and get the ball to Dirk Nowitzki at all costs.
"I did that one game, Rick Carlisle pulled me to the side like, 'Yo, show me the play.' He was like, 'You see that guy in the corner? That's 20,000 points there. Around here, your job is to rebound and block shots. Don't you ever look off Dirk [Nowitzki] to take your raggedy a** jump hook again,'" Haywood said on No Chill with Gilbert Arenas podcast last year.
"He was like, 'Yo, when you get the offensive rebound right here, the possession matters. We're trying to win a championship; possessions matter. You kick that out, we reset the offense. Somebody's gonna make the play for you… You're gonna get your points that way. But don't you look off Dirk Nowitzki,'" Haywood added.
Rick was a championship-caliber coach
Despite being a little offended of what the coach told him, Haywood eventually realized the championship-level coaching that Carlisle was implementing. He appreciated how Carlisle's strategic approach and commitment to excellence created an environment that fostered the team's growth and success.
Moreover, Baby Huey admired Coach Rick's intensity and rawness. For Haywood, Nowitzki undeniably lifted the Mavs to an emphatic championship run in 2011, but it wouldn't have been possible without Carlisle.
"When I got on a championship level team where discipline was required, it was like, I realized we was just playing to play… Rick don't pull no punches. That's why he's respected."
Related: Julius Erving believes no player is similar to him in the modern NBA: “I was a small forward, but I really played like a power forward”
The Mavs' 2011 championship run was legendary
Haywood did exactly what Carlisle asked him to do. He recognized that the team's offense should always be centered around Nowitzki. True to form, Carlisle's tactics paid off, and the Mavs captured the 2011 NBA championship.
With Dirk leading the charge, Dallas rallied to the NBA Finals to face the vaunted Big 3 of the Miami Heat. Despite being viewed as huge underdogs, Nowitzki and Dallas upset LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and the Heat in six games to win their first and only NBA title in franchise history.
Understandably, Dirk and Rick don't get the same level of recognition as other coach-player championship duos, but it's safe to say that the Mavs' 2011 NBA title run was nothing short of legendary.
Related: "We called him 'Nasty Dirk'" - Al Harrington recalled the first time Dirk Nowitzki left him in awe
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