Thirteen years later, the Golden State Warriors playoff win over the Dallas Mavericks still holds a special place in NBA history.
In 2007, Don Nelson’s Warriors squad tore through the final quarter of the season to earn the last playoff bid in the Western Conference. The Warriors won nine of their final 10 games for a chance to play the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks to start the 2007 playoffs.
Led by Most Valuable Player candidate Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks streaked to the best record in the association with 67 victories. However, the Golden State Warriors started their postseason run playing the role of spoiler.
Baron Davis set the tone in the opening game, racking up 33 points and 14 rebounds. Stephen Jackson landed the final blow in game six with 33 points on 7-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. The Warriors put an exclamation point on their upset bid, eliminating the Mavericks with a 111-86 victory in Oakland for game six.
The Warriors became just the third eighth-seeded squad in NBA playoff history to knock out the top seed.
On the anniversary of the Warriors’ underdog postseason win, a vital figure of the “We Believe” run chimed in on social media. Jason Richardson gave a shout-out to “Dub Nation” on Twitter.
Via @jrich23:
Dub Nation!!!!! https://t.co/LZZ85HVH6C
— Jason Richardson (@jrich23) May 3, 2020
Against the Mavericks in the playoffs, Richardson tallied 19.5 points in 51.1% shooting with 6.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 40 minutes per game. “J-Rich” led the Warriors to a game three win at Oracle Arena with 30 points and eight rebounds.
Despite being eliminated in the next round by the Utah Jazz, Richardson and the rest of the cast from the We Believe Warriors cemented their place in Golden State lore.
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