The Dallas Mavericks memorably defeated the highly-fancied Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals, and two years since then its owner Mark Cuban still thinks the LeBron James-led team remain the villains for most NBA fans despite ruling the NBA for two consecutive years.
The outspoken Cuban said the Heat can be compared to the Oakland Raiders during their heydays, saying fans either loved or hated them and this reputation makes the league more intriguing to the general public. He also dismissed the Heat as the league's bad guys despite ruling the league for two years.
"With the two titles, they're still like the bad guys," Cuban told NBA.com. "There's a confidence bordering on arrogance that is good for them as a team and good for us as a league because it also makes them the team that everybody wants to knock off.
In comparing the Heat to the Raiders, Cuban said the bad guy image of Miami is good for the league. "That's always good for the NBA when you have a team that everybody looks forward to beating. It's just like when we beat them, I would go in places I've never been and people would give me a standing ovation. That's good for the NBA."
Cuban and the Heat have a long history going back to the 2006 NBA Finals, where the Mavs led 2-0 before losing the next four games to Miami. In 2011, the Heat were the odds-on favorite to win the title after James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh joined forces to form a superteam. The Heat led the Mavs, 2-0, and were in control of game 3 until the Mavs mounted a huge rally and eventually shock the Heat to win their first NBA title.
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