2010–11 NBA season
The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The season concluded with the Dallas Mavericks defeating the Miami Heat in six games, 4 games to 2, to win their first NBA title, and Dirk Nowitzki was named Finals MVP. Chicago's Derrick Rose was named the 2010–11 NBA MVP. Transactions. Free agency. The 2010 off-season had one of the most talented free agent pools in recent NBA history. The list of free  agents included All-Stars LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer and Amar'e Stoudemire, as well as other veteran players such as Ray Allen, Joe Johnson, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Shaquille O'Neal and Paul Pierce. Below are the major free agency signings, including the sign and trade agreements, that occurred during the off-season. Preseason. NBA Europe Live 2010 was played October 3, 2010 – October 7, 2010, featuring the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers and teams from Europe (Armani Jeans Milano and Regal FC Barcelona) The Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns played in  Indian Wells, California, on October 9 for their outdoor special. The Houston Rockets and New Jersey Nets played in the fifth annual NBA China Games on October 13 in Beijing, and October 16 at Guangzhou. The preseason schedule was released in August. Regular season. The regular season began on October 26, 2010, and ended on April 13, 2011. The Opening Day schedule on TNT had the Miami Heat face the Boston Celtics, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers' championship ring and banner ceremony and their game against the Houston Rockets. The opener began at 7:30 p.m. ET. On Christmas Day , ABC and ESPN had a five-game set, with ABC broadcasting the game between the Celtics and the Orlando Magic, and the Heat against the Lakers, which started at 2:00 p.m. ET. On Martin Luther King Day, ESPN aired the game between the Chicago Bulls and the Memphis Grizzlies at 1:00 p.m. ET, while NBA TV aired the Sacramento Kings–Atlanta Hawks matchup at 4:00 p.m. ET. TNT capped off the holiday with a doubleheader, beginning with the Magic facing the Celtics, followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder facing the Los Angeles Lakers, beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET. The full  schedule was released on August 10, 2010. Other much-anticipated games include: on October 28, 2010, John Wall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA draft, made his NBA debut as the Washington Wizards visited the Magic on TNT. On December 2, LeBron James returned to Cleveland for the first time since the Decision as his Heat faced the Cavaliers on TNT. The Celtics–Lakers rivalry renewed on January 30, 2011 (at Los Angeles on ABC) and on February 10, 2011 (at Boston on TNT) in a rematch of the 2010 NBA Finals. On March 4–5, 2011, the New  Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors faced off in two regular season games held at London's O2 Arena. Standings. By conference. Notes Playoffs. The 2011 NBA Playoffs began on April 16, with the Conference Finals concluding on May 26. The NBA Finals began on May 31 due to both Conference Finals ending in five games. ESPN began their playoff broadcast on April 16, and continued every Friday and Saturday thereafter, with the Sunday–Thursday schedule reserved for TNT (some Saturday first-round games apply) and NBA TV. ABC continued broadcasting early-round playoff coverage every Sunday afternoon, with select Saturday  afternoon broadcasts. The first round playoff coverage was non-exclusive except for ABC-covered games, in which local sports networks (e.g. Fox Sports Net, Comcast SportsNet) still aired the game in their home market. TNT aired the Eastern Conference Finals while ESPN aired the Western Conference Finals. The NBA Finals were shown on ABC. Nationwide radio coverage was on ESPN Radio for select playoff games, the entire Conference Finals and NBA Finals. Awards. Players of the week. The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week. Players of the month. The following players were named  the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month. Rookies of the month. The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month. Coaches of the month. The following coaches were named the Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month. NBA All-Star break. The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. This game was the 61st edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s annual basketball festivities, and was also the fifth All-Star Game held in Los Angeles; the city previously hosted in  1963, 1972, 1983 and 2004. As with the 2004 event, it was jointly hosted by the Lakers and the Clippers. The Western Conference All-Stars defeated the Eastern Conference 148–143, with the Lakers' Kobe Bryant named as MVP for the fourth time, tying the record of Bob Pettit. Salary cap. On July 7, the NBA announced that the salary cap for the 2010–11 season would be $58.044 million, an increase of $0.344 million from previous season's $57.70 million, and would go into effect on July 8 as the league's "moratorium period" had ended and teams  could begin signing free agents and making trades. The increase came as a surprise as the league initially predicted a decrease in the salary cap. On March, before the playoffs, the league projected that the salary cap would be around $56.1 million. The tax level for the season was set at $70.307 million, with each team paying a $1 tax for each $1 by which it exceeds $70.307 million. The mid-level exception was $5.765 million for the season and the minimum team salary, which was set at 75% of the salary cap, was  $43.533 million. The maximum salaries for players are set at $13.604 million for players with zero to six years of experience, $16.324 million for players with seven to nine years of experience, and $19.045 million for players with more than 10 years of experience.