Kobe Bryant won five championships in his career, one three-peat during the early 2000s and two later in the decade. However, Kobe was on his way to another three-peat in 2011 when the Lakers reached the playoffs. But, Dirk Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks had different plans and swept the Lakers in four games.

Bryant won two straight championships in 2009 and 2010 with the Lakers. He won the Finals MVP in both 2009 and 2010 for his dominant performance during the series. During the 2010-11 season, Kobe was in hope of matching Jordan’s record of six championships. He even became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 26,000 points then.

The Lakers finished the regular season in 2nd place in the western conference with a 57-25 record. However, Kobe’s dream of a sixth championship ended in the playoffs as Dirk Nowitzki’s Mavericks swept them in four games in the 2nd round. Kobe praised Nowitzki for his performance that season.

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Kobe Bryant lavished praise on Dirk Nowitzki after Mavericks swept the Lakers in 2011

Dallas Mavericks had swept the Lakers during the 2011 playoffs. Kobe was fascinated by Nowitzki’s performance and praised him after the tie.

“Nobody’s going to be able to stop him,” Bryant told Nico Harrison, who represented Kobe for Nike’s Marketing Department at that time.

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“He’s on another planet right now.”

Dirk Nowitzki won the Finals MVP that season as he averaged 26 points per game in the playoffs. During the Mavericks vs Lakers series, Nowitzki started all four games and scored 101 points in total (25.3 PPG). Kobe Bryant has 93 points in that series with an average of 23.3 per game.

Dallas Mavericks managed to win the first two games which they played at their home. The Lakers then had two straight games at their home turf. But, they failed to take advantage of that and lost the series in four games. Nowitzki led the scoring charts in two of the 4 games from that Mavericks vs Lakers series.

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