If you follow Jason Kidd on Twitter, you might have noticed his recent "throwback" tweets, noting key anniversaries from his 17 NBA playoff appearances as a player.

Granted he's had more time to tweet since Milwaukee relieved him as head coach, but mostly 45-year-old Kidd is feeling extra nostalgia these days, with his looming Sept. 7 induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

As for playoff flashbacks, no anniversary is bigger for Kidd, the Dallas organization and Mavericks fans than June 12, 2011. It was seven years ago today that the Mavericks won Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Miami, 105-95, clinching the first and still only championship in the franchise's 38-season history.

"With that group of guys," Kidd told The News by phone, "we'll be bonded together forever because of what we accomplished in '11. It was a heck of a run and a great group of guys who just believed in 'team.' "

That 57-win Dallas team entered the postseason as the Western Conference's No. 3 seed, but went 16-5 during its playoff run. And what does Kidd most remember about the title-clinching victory?

"Well, Dirk wasn't playing very well in the first half," he recalled, breaking into several seconds of laughter before adding: "And thank the Lord for Jason Terry."

Terry's 19 first-half points in Game 6 helped stake the Mavericks to a 53-51 lead, despite Dirk Nowitzki scoring just three points on 1-of-12 shooting.

Said Kidd: "That was the first time I ever had to say, 'Hey, Big Boy, can you just breathe? Relax. We all want it.'

"We knew we had to get him the ball right away to start the second half."

Indeed, 12 seconds into the third quarter, Kidd fed Nowitzki coming off a screen. Nowitzki sank a 17-foot jumper on his way to scoring 18 second-half points on 8-of-15 shooting.

"When he made that first shot, I think we all kind of relaxed then," Kidd said.

Here’s the early 3rd-quarter @swish41 basket in Game 6 of the 2011 Finals that @RealJasonKidd says was 🔑 in jump-starting Dirk after 1-for-12 first half. pic.twitter.com/eMeqYinH1M — Brad Townsend (@townbrad) June 12, 2018

What else does Kidd remember?

"I think that day was just surreal in the sense that no one really gave us a shot at the beginning of the playoffs," he said. "We just kept finding a way. Then come the 12th, we're sitting there with an opportunity to close out the series.

"I think nerves were high and butterflies were flying through everybody, but at the end of the day, for whatever reason, we felt very comfortable in the fourth quarter, with six minutes left in the game. No one was afraid. And it just showed the character of the team and also the coaching staff because we all believed that we could find a way to win. And that day became very special. We found a way to win.

"None of us had won a championship, so to do that was remarkable and something that, when it was over, it was like, 'There's no one else to play. You've climbed the mountain and you're the last one standing.' It was an incredible moment."

That #FridayFeeling when you book a spot in the @NBA Finals! Seven years ago today we did it, Dallas! #FlashbackFriday pic.twitter.com/oJdLztUjZS — Jason Kidd (@RealJasonKidd) May 25, 2018

Like some U.S. presidencies, the Mavericks' 2011 title run grows more impressive, and appreciated by basketball purists, by the year.

Of the seven ensuing NBA titles, three have been won by LeBron James-led teams, three have been won by Golden State and one by San Antonio.

James is coming off an NBA Finals in which he averaged 34.0 points, 8.5 assists and 8.5 rebounds despite playing three of the four games with a broken bone in his shooting hand.

Today it seems unfathomable that James during the 2011 Finals averaged 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists.

"Their time will come," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said that night of James and the Heat, "but now it's our time."

That was the first of eight straight Finals appearances for James, and his first playoff run after his much-hyped "I'm going to take my talents to South Beach" announcement, in which he joined up with Dwyane Wade and Dallas native Chris Bosh in Miami.

"When you look at what LeBron has done the last eight years, it's incredible," Kidd said. "And you look at what Golden State has turned into. I think LeBron has a part of doing that, too, because he kind of started the Super Team [trend]. . . For us, I don't think we were a Super Team. And maybe we were one of the last Super Teams to win."

During that playoff run, Nowitzki was 32, Terry and Shawn Marion and Peja Stojakovic were 33.

Kidd was, uh, well . . .

"I was the old mule," Kidd interrupted with a laugh. He was 38 during that playoff run. "I was on my way to pasture. I was almost glue, but the glue hadn't hardened."

Kidd played one more NBA season beyond 2010-2011, initially verbally committing to re-sign with the Mavericks, but ultimately joining the Knicks. But Kidd, who was drafted by Dallas as the No. 2 overall pick in 1994, was traded to Phoenix and re-acquired in 2008 by the Mark Cuban regime, says he views his career as having fittingly started and ended in Dallas.

Kidd said Cuban was one of the first to congratulate him after the Hall of Fame Class of 2018 was announced. Is there a chance of Kidd someday rejoining the Mavericks franchise?

"You're talking about one of the best organizations and best owners in sports," Kidd said. "To learn from and work for [that organization] would hopefully be something that down the road I could do."

In management?

"No, no, as a coach," Kidd said with a laugh. "Because Cuban is going to get his say of what he thinks, which is fine.

"To get back into coaching in the NBA, yeah, I would love to, but as of right now I'm going to take some time and hang with the family. It's something I haven't done in 25 years, is have some time off. So I'm going to try to enjoy this before I get back into it."

And take some time to reflect -- especially today, and on September 7 in Springfield, Mass.

Hall of Fame officials inform us that tickets to the induction ceremony are available to the public, for as low as $99. For information: www.hoophall.com and 413-231-5513.