Dallas — After 20 years of being known as a “rowdy, proud, and loud” arena where fans have seen Kyrie Irving yell, “Don’t be boring!”, the crowd of 20,555 people watching Dallas hold off Oklahoma City on Saturday night was
suddenly struck silent as P.J. Washington stepped to the foul line with 2.5 seconds left. Washington calmly made his first of three jumpers, and the Mavericks were one point away from a trip to the Western Conference finals. The
American Airlines Center is known for positioning scorching hot microphones above the rims of each basket. This allowed the sound of Washington’s game-winning second attempt to resound loudly, enhancing the live theater that
playoff basketball can genuinely offer as a stadium holds its collective breath.
Back in February, Dallas head coach Jason Kidd was really attending a Broadway matinee of “& Juliet” on the afternoon of the NBA trade deadline, when the Mavericks were very close to making a trade for Washington. After a
game against Brooklyn, his Mavericks traveled to New York ahead of their Thursday night matchup with the Knicks. Kidd remembered, “It was a good play for the first thirty seconds,” before he surreptitiously left the show to discuss
the trade with Dallas general manager Nico Harrison and their franchise face, Luka Dončić.
Harrison was calling Kidd a year prior with the unique chance to acquire Irving prior to the 2023 trade deadline. Harrison was a well-connected Nike executive who had worked closely with Irving for years to create the perennial
All-Star’s signature sneakers before taking over as the Mavericks’ basketball operations manager. And while Irving was growing up in nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey, admiring the Hall of Fame point guard, Kidd was just leading the
New Jersey Nets to straight Finals appearances. Harrison and Kidd thought it was unusual to get an eight-time All-Star for one first-round selection, two seconds, and two rotation players. NBA fans will, however, immediately recall
that Irving’s time in Brooklyn was cut short by a slew of ailments, absences, and bans, as well as the talented guard’s reluctance to comply.