Greatest unsung hero in every NBA team’s history

Dallas Mavericks: J.J. Barea

After losing to Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of the 2011 Western Conference Semifinals, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson and superstar guard Kobe Bryant showered Mavericks point guard J.J. Barea with praise. Barea scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter to help Dallas secure the 93-81 win.

Bryant told reporters after the game that Barea dominated them, while Jackson went as far as to compare him to All-Star guard Chris Paul. Good to know that Jackson’s terrible evaluating skills didn’t start when he became president of the New York Knicks in 2014.

The Mavericks later would reach the NBA Finals that postseason for a matchup with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat. With Dallas down 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, head coach Rick Carlisle made some tweaks to his rotations, namely moving Barea into the starting point guard spot.

The decision paid off, as Barea’s 17 points in Game 5 and 15 points in the series-clinching Game 6 helped the Mavericks upset the Heat to win their first NBA Championship.

Outside of that handful of postseason games, Barea has had an unspectacular career. Through 13 seasons with the Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves, he has averaged 9.0 points per game with a 14.5 PER, as of Feb. 2, 2019. He’s a solid backup point guard, but asking him to rise to a level higher than that is usually asking too much.

However, for several games in one postseason, Barea helped the Mavericks reach the pinnacle of the NBA success against an opponent that many people thought would steamroll them. That counts for something.