"During the last week of February this past season, Corey Brewer was languishing for one of the worst teams in the NBA.

Some 3 1/2 months later, he was being showered with champagne after he became a first-time NBA champion.

"I got lucky," Brewer said Friday. "I can truly say I'm blessed and I got in a great position. I went from being on the worst team in the NBA to winning an NBA title. I went through a period of 3 1/2 years of every night -- night in and night out -- of losing, so to come here and win, it's a blessing.''

The Dallas Mavericks signed Brewer to a three-year, $8 million contract on March 3, two days after he cleared waivers once the New York Knicks released him. The Knicks had acquired Brewer on Feb. 22 from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a three-team trade with Denver that allowed New York to obtain Carmelo Anthony.

Brewer never played a game for the Knicks. And he became an instant hit with Mavericks fans for his all-out hustle and penchant for diving for loose balls.

Now, Brewer hopes that when he has a training camp -- although it's only 16 days -- under his belt he'll be able to get more than the 11.4 minutes per game he played last season for the Mavericks."