When people talk about the Dallas Mavericks ’ epic 2011 championship run, the impact of Caron Butler often gets overlooked. Butler only played 29 games that season due to suffering a knee injury nearly halfway through the year, but according to Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki, Butler's toughness might have rubbed off on his teammates even though he wasn't playing.
"Going into that '10-11 season, we felt like we had a good team. I don't think we were necessarily favorites, but we felt like we had some veterans and we had a good start to the season. And then I got hurt right around Christmas time, so I was out, I was hurt," Nowitzki told former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the latest episode of "All The Smoke."
"And then New Year's Day, I'll never forget. We're in Milwaukee - that's where Caron is from - and I'm sitting out in a suit because I'm not playing, and Caron goes up for a rebound and just screams and lays on the ground."
What Nowitzki saw next was something he wasn't prepared for, but it showed him just how tough Butler was.
"So we're all rushing over there, and I see, literally... he tore his patella tendon, and his kneecap had dislocated, so it sat on top of his thigh. I'm like trying to dry heave, it was nasty, and so our trainer is like 'oh my God, oh my God, we need wheelchair, wheelchair,'" Nowitzki said.
"And that was one of the toughest things I've seen. I mean, Caron is pretty tough, so he heard 'wheelchair,' and he's from Wisconsin, his grandmother was there, his family. He was like, 'I'm not getting out of her in a wheelchair.' So I watched him push his kneecap down by himself ... and he walked out on his own power. I said, 'this guy's built different.'"
The Mavs went on to complete a magical title run that season, going through the likes of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol's two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the second round, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden's up-and-coming Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, and LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh's star-studded Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
Butler was unfortunately never the same player after that injury, even though he played five more seasons with five different teams before retiring, but his contributions to the Mavs both on and off the court were greatly appreciated by his teammates. And most importantly, he still ended up with a championship ring ... and he has a pretty cool story to go along with it.
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