As the NBA has been obsessed with its lockout since the end of the 2011 NBA Finals, it is easy to already forget how remarkable Dirk Nowitizki’s individual performance from the end of April to the middle of June truly was.

Nowitzki began the heroics in Game 1 against Portland with an outstanding game that saved the Mavs from a distressing homecourt loss. Jason Kidd scored 24 points, made six three-pointers, grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists, but it was Nowitzki who rescued the Mavs and set the tone for the teams’ play for the duration of the playoffs. Despite shooting poorly through the first three quarters, Nowitzki poured in 18 last quarter points saving the Mavericks from a fourth quarter deficit, something he’d become quite accustomed to doing. He went on to average 27 points during the series as the Mavs eventually won in six games, even after dropping the third and fourth outings in Portland.

The Mavs moved onto a far greater challenge by facing the Los Angeles Lakers, the winner of the previous two championships, who had finished the regular season on a tear and defeated the Mavs decisively in a physical, late season contest. Nowitzki’s offensive form required too much attention from the Los Angeles defenders, allowing Dallas’ shooters to rain fire from beyond the three-point line. The Mavericks somewhat shockingly swept the Lakers.

The Western Conference and NBA Finals were two series that presented real problems for the Mavs band of veterans. The Mavs were to go against the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder and then the Miami Heat; two teams possessing youth, speed and athleticism, not exactly attributes one would associate with the 2010-11 Mavs. The Heat and Thunder also featured multiple superstar talents, tough defenders, and even playoff and Finals experience. Nowitzki’s individual performances allowed the Mavericks to eventually take each series and he was able to pull off arguably some of the best individual performances by a player on such a high stage. Against Oklahoma City, Game 1 saw Nowitzki amass 48 points while making an NBA playoff-record 24 consecutive free throws. In Game 4, down 15 with four and a half minutes remaining in regulation, Nowitzki lead the Mavs to an improbable over-time victory, scoring 12 points to force OT and 40 for the game.

The Finals were a chance at vindication for not just Nowitzki or the remaining Mavs that had managed to  stick around after Wade stole their title in 2006, but also for the other veterans Dallas had assembled that had come so close in the past but had never gone the whole way. Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Peja Stojakovic had each been part of successful teams that had fallen short of the ultimate goal. The Mavs, and especially Dirk, had endured years of criticism for performances such as their choke job in the 2006 Finals, the first round collapse against Golden State a year later, as well as a number of early playoff exits since then.

After dropping Game 1 and then finding themselves on the verge of an insurmountable hole, down 15 in the fourth quarter of Game 2, Nowitzki was able to find a way to will his team to victory. Just like he had done for the entire playoffs and would do for the remainder of the series, Nowitzki made big shot after big shot. Whether it would be his patent one-footed step back or a hard take to the cup, for the first time in his career the critics were speechless.

When he made the game tie-breaking layup with just 3.6 seconds remaining he tilted the series in the Mavericks favour and ultimately, certified his legacy. The two come-from-behind victories in the Western Conference and the Finals defined Nowitzki’s 2011 playoff run. His one-footed fade aways, transition threes, and tough lefty drives led Dallas all the way to a title while accumulating playoff averages of a shade under 28 points per outing, eight boards, 48.5% from the field, and a ridiculous combination of 46% from downtown and 94% from the line. Those offensive outputs were amazing to witness and for someone who had come under so much scrutiny in the past, it made it that much more impressive. Winning cures everything.

While there have been many other outstanding individual performances from superstars en route to Championship seasons, no other title-bearing superstar in the past 15 years has won with such little All-Star help beside them. Depth has been a common attribute on all championship winning teams since Jordan collected his fourth in 1996 (and generally throughout NBA history) but no team in the past decade and a half relied so heavily upon one star player.

The Mavs did assemble a deep roster and while a few of their guys had been All-Stars once upon a time, with the exception of Tyson Chandler, all of them were already well past their prime and possessed only limited skill sets.

Jason Kidd is a great example. He played stretches of brilliant basketball throughout the playoffs and his shooting and defence were pivotal in determining the outcome of a number of games, but he barely managed nine points per and his age totally altered the way in which he plays to the point where he is only a shell of the player that led the Nets to back-to-back finals appearances in the early 2000s.

Shawn Marion was only good for 11 points per game in the playoffs, Stojakovic played sparingly and Jason Terry, despite averaging a solid 17 points throughout the playoffs, is at this point no longer much of a penetrator and relies heavily on the outside jumper, effectively making him an extremely undersized two guard.

The only semblance of an All-Star outside of Nowitzki was Caron Butler but he went down for the season in January. This is nothing against the outstanding play each of these guys contributed at various points throughout the playoffs, but Dirk became the first player in contemporary NBA history to take a group of role players, each with serve deficiencies in their games, and nothing more all the way to a title without All-Star level help.

Perhaps sometime in the future we will remember Dallas’ championship run as something other than a one-off run to a ring and instead remember it as something more significant. The past year has seen the league begin to change, a change that if it were continue would change the NBA landscape drastically. Nowitzki’s ring may change that.

Just last season a somewhat scary trend began to emerge- the formation of squads constructed with multiple elite talents. Miami kicked things off by banking the next half decade on the pairing of LeBron James and Chris Bosh with Dwyane Wade. With those three taking up the vast majority of the team’s salary cap there will potentially be little else in terms of roster help for the duration of their contracts. Then, halfway through the 2010-11 season, the Knicks traded away half of their roster in order to pair Carmelo Anthony with Amar’e Stoudamire, presumably with the plan of adding a third All-Star at a later date. You can be sure that when the Heat’s three superstars succumbed to Dallas’ one, teams throughout the league were watching. Because of the this maybe we will see the more traditional method of building around one superstar, with viable scoring options and solid role players stick around a little longer rather than this new trend that would all but eliminate competitive parity.