Fresh off of his Hall of Fame induction, former Dallas Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd has recently come out with his own write-up for The Player's Tribune. The 45-year-old covers a number of noteworthy subjects in his essay, but one that stood out was his narrative on the 2011 Mavs, which he labelled as “The Bad News Bears.”

Kidd is referencing a 1976 sports film that features a little league team composed by a bunch of misfits. It is a typical tale of the underdog prevailing in the end against all odds. To Kidd, this is exactly the makings of the 2011 Mavs side which lifted the NBA title against the heavily-favored Miami Heat and their Big 3.

“The 2011 Mavs, we were tough as nails,” Kidd writes. “A ragtag group. Sometimes I call that team the NBA version of The Bad News Bears. We had Jason Terry, aka Benjamin Button. We had Tyson Chandler and Peja, and backing me up at point we had J.J Barea. We had Shawn Marion. We had a guy named Brian Cardinal, who we called ‘the Custodian.' He was a grinder. We just had a lot of veterans. I loved that group because we hustled. We enjoyed playing.”

Article Continues Below
More Dallas Mavericks News
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd looks on during the second quarter against the Toronto Raptors at the American Airlines Center.
NBA rumors: Knicks expected to make Jason Kidd request after Tom Thibodeau firingJoey Mistretta ·
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd greets guard Luka Doncic (77) as Doncic comes off the floor during the third quarter against the LA Clippers during game six of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center.
Mavericks’ 10 best NBA Draft day moves in historySpencer See ·
Tyrese Haliburton, Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Exclusive: The surprise superstar AAU ballers picked as NBA’s Face of the LeagueChris Dodson ·
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the New York Knicks at the American Airlines Center.
NBA rumors: Why Tim MacMahon ‘won’t dismiss’ Jason Kidd leaving Mavericks for KnicksJason Patt ·
Charlotte Hornets guard Dennis Smith Jr. (8) looks to pass as he is defended by Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Green (8) during the first half at the Spectrum Center.
Dallas Mavericks’ 10 worst NBA Draft day mistakes in historySpencer See ·
Mavericks Jason Kidd on left. New York Knicks 2025 logo on right. Question marks all over image.
How Mavericks, Knicks could discuss Jason Kidd trade after Tom Thibodeau firingJoey Mistretta ·

Much like the Bad News Bears, the Mavs were also heavy underdogs entering the 2011 NBA Finals.

“Nobody picked us to win the title that year,” continues Kidd. “The Heat had LeBron, D-Wade, Chris Bosh — that first year together as the Big 3. We had the Bad News Bears. But that’s the thing, right? They had all the talent in the world, but they needed one more season to really get it going.”

The 2011 Mavs are widely regarded as the last non-super team to have won a title. It was truly a Cinderella story for the ages; one worthy of its own feature film one day.