Raymond Felton bounces back for Mavericks after tough 2015

Look up the definition of resiliency in the dictionary, and there might be a picture of Dallas Mavericks guard Raymond Felton next to it.

The Mavs’ 11-year veteran had a difficult year last season. But those trials and tribulations, Felton noted, only made him a better, stronger and wiser person.

After surviving his many misfortunes, Felton, who had a triple-double against Washington on Dec. 12, has become one of the Mavs’ more valuable players this season.

“It’s just been big for me to show everybody what I’m capable of still doing coming off an injury, coming off all that bad stuff I was dealing with off the court,” Felton said. “A lot of people don’t realize that has a lot to do with your work and how you perform when you don’t have a clear mind going into work or doing anything.

“I think for any job if you don’t have a clear mind going into anything, you’re not going to be 100 percent and you’re not going to be your best. So just to be able to have a lot things put behind me, being healthy, working hard this summer and just having the confidence of Coach [Rick Carlisle], the coaching staff and my teammates, it helps.”

Part of what’s behind Felton is what he calls a hurtful period of his life. While still playing for the New York Knicks, Felton was arrested on Feb. 25, 2014, on felony gun charges.

Felton pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon as part of a plea deal. He also had to pay a $5,000 fine and do 500 hours of community service.

Four months later, the Knicks included Felton in the trade that brought Tyson Chandler back to the Mavs. And before the 2014-15 training camp started, the NBA suspended Felton for the first four games of that season because he pleaded guilty to those gun possession charges.

But before Felton could start serving that suspension, he suffered a high right ankle sprain after playing just one minute in the Mavs’ second preseason game. The injury forced Felton to miss the first 31 games of the 2014-15 season and delayed his return to the basketball court until Dec. 28, 10 days after the Mavs traded for point guard Rajon Rondo.

Even when Felton was healthy, there were 22 games last season when he didn’t play because of a coach’s decision. Forward Dirk Nowitzki, his teammates and the coaching staff praised him for not being a disruptive force in the locker room in what had to be a difficult situation.

“I’ve talked to him about it, so I know it was a tough year for him last year,” point guard Deron Williams said. “He’s never really, in his career, had to go through any extensive injuries like that where he’s missed a lot of time, so I know it was tough for him.

“And then when he came back he didn’t play much because of the Rondo trade, but this year he’s been a huge part of our team. There have been a lot of games where if we didn’t have him, we don’t pull them out.”

One of those games occurred Friday against Denver when Felton sent the game into overtime with a basket with 10.8 seconds remaining. From there, Felton scored eight of the first 11 points the Mavs scored in overtime as they went on to win 122-116.

“He’s a good player, that’s what he is,” Carlisle said. “I’m happy for him that he’s having a really good year. He’s an experienced veteran that’s a winner, so he’s played well for us all year long. He’s going to be a key guy for us down the stretch.”

And likely a key guy when the Mavs (31-28) host Minnesota (18-40) at 6 p.m. Sunday at American Airlines Center.

“Raymond has been great all year long,” guard Devin Harris said. “He really had a tough year last year.

“He came back [this season] ready to play and ready to prove himself again, and I think he’s done that plus more. I think he’s a big part of what we do, especially in the fourth quarter.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Raymond Felton bounces back for Mavericks after tough 2015."