Derrick Rose... Image via Wikipedia

“SIX STATS…” is a bonus feature of Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ and is published every Friday.

1. The Dallas Mavericks were a first-time NBA champion last season. They were the third first-time champ in the last 13 years; Miami in 2005-06 and San Antonio in 1998-99.

2. Derrick Rose was the league MVP last year. He became the 16th former Rookie of the Year to eventually win the MVP honor. The others: Bob Pettit, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dave Cowens, Bob McAdoo, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan and LeBron James.

3. Steve Nash won his fifth assists title in 2010-11. That ties him with Jason Kidd for fourth most assist titles in league history. John Stockton won nine titles; Bob Cousy, 8, and Oscar Robertson, 6.

4. The Chicago Bulls won the Central Division by 25 games over the Indiana Pacers. It was the third time in four years that a team has won a divisional title by 25 games. The other two: Cleveland in 2008-09 and Boston in 2007-08.

5. Paul Pierce became the 37th player in league history to score 20,000 points. He became the third Boston Celtics player (John Havlicek and Larry Bird) to score all of his 20,000+ points with the Celtics.

6. Another Celtic, Ray Allen passed Reggie Miller for the career lead in three-point shots made, 2,612 (Miller had 2,560). Last season Allen shot .444 from the three-point arc, the best percentage of his 15-year career. He also had his best field goal percentage of his career last year shooting .491 from the field. Allen is a career .399 percentage shooter from the arc; his career three-point percentage at home is .399 and .399 on the road.