P.J. Washington's fiery 3-word message defines Mavericks' true mission

Dallas Mavericks power forward P.J. Washington has a strong message for his team for the rest of the way of this long season, and it'll fire up every single Mavs fan.

As the local kid who played high school basketball in Frisco, Texas, Washington is someone who was clearly excited whenever he was traded to the Mavericks from the Charlotte Hornets. Washington couldn't contain his excitement during his introductory press conference, and he was ecstatic to be playing in Big D.

He's someone who has quickly become a vocal leader for the Mavs, and he just made headlines for using a strong message to help motivate his team when speaking with the media earlier this week.

P.J. Washington is locked in on returning to the NBA Finals

It's a simple but strong message from Washington.

Washington sounded as confident as ever following a huge win against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night. He had just finished with 13 points while shooting 2-4 from downtown and boldly hitting Stephen Curry's "night night" celebration to the Dallas' bench once the game was out of hand, and his words in a postgame interview matched his fiery mindset.

In a weird time with injuries and illnesses haunting the Mavericks locker room, Washington took to NBA TV for some strong words that show how dialed in he and his teammates are. Former NBA champion Danny Green asked Washington straight up what the goal was at the end of this season, and he didn't

"It's championship or bust, we're just trying to get to the Western Conference Finals," Washington said. "Obviously, we have a chip on our shoulder from last season, so our goal is to get back there and obviously avenge ourselves and get our goal, so we feel like we got the team to do it and we just got to stay locked in every night."

This is the kind of mentality that's not uncommon for Washington.

After all, Washington is the same guy who helped stand up for his teammates by "standing on business" to the LA Clippers in the first round of last season's playoffs.

After struggling with his shot at the beginning of the season, including an airball in a loss to the Indiana Pacers, Washington has quickly found the rhythm he needs to be a phenomenal offensive player. His quick improvement from that dark start to the season has shown he can be an extremely reliable third option next to Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic.

This same point that Washington made to NBA TV was also talked about on the "Club 520 Podcast," which is hosted by former NBA point guard Jeff Teague.

"I really feel they got the recipe to get back to that championship round with the Boston Celtics again," Teague said.

Washington is right with the bold words he said. Klay Thompson is starting to find his stride, with others like Quentin Grimes shooting well and Spencer Dinwiddie bringing back the elite level of play that Mavs fans grew to love from his first stint in Dallas.

The team has shown they can win any way they want. If they stay true to their 12-man rotation, the Mavericks are going to be a tough team to beat on any night, and Washington's mindset is likely shared by many of his teammates.