The night began with reflection and ended with resolution. On a floor that once asked him to define an expansion franchise, Mark Aguirre stood at midcourt Thursday and watched his No. 24 rise to the rafters at American Airlines Center, completing a journey that spanned decades, cities, and identities.
(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
For the Dallas Mavericks, the ceremony was a long-awaited acknowledgment of the player who gave the franchise its first true star. For Aguirre, it was the closing of a circle that began far from Dallas — on the West Side of Chicago, where survival came before basketball and brotherhood preceded fame.
“It’s the beginning of my life coming full circle,” Aguirre said. “It had to happen the way it happened. Life goes on. You do what you do.”
Mark Aguirre’s jersey makes its way to the rafters
3× All-Star
2× NBA Champion
No. 1 overall pick in the 1981 NBA Draft
Congrats to the @dallasmavs legend! pic.twitter.com/1q4bF9OHMp
— NBA (@NBA) January 30, 2026
Roots That Preceded the Spotlight
Before Aguirre ever wore an NBA jersey, he was a kid who grew up three blocks from Isiah Thomas on Chicago’s West Side. The two future Hall of Fame-level competitors were shaped by circumstances that demanded resilience long before the game demanded excellence.
“You were hungry every day, and you really were just surviving,” Thomas said. “You really couldn’t think about tomorrow or next week or next month or next year.
“Really, it was like hour to hour, you’re trying to figure out life, school, growing up in the neighborhood. We had a lot of fun moments playing basketball, but if it wasn’t for the sport taking that mental strain off your brain, it was a difficult time.”
That shared background forged a bond that never loosened, even as their careers diverged and later reunited. Thomas followed Aguirre to Dallas for the ceremony, something Aguirre said carried deep personal meaning.
“That means so much to me,” Aguirre said. “We grew up in the same neighborhood, so he knows everything about me. When I look at him, I can’t hide anything.”
Carrying a Franchise From the Beginning
When Dallas selected Aguirre with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1981 NBA Draft, the Mavericks were still defining what they were meant to be. There was no established culture, no blueprint for success — only a need for relevance.
Aguirre provided it.
Over eight seasons with Dallas, he averaged 24.6 points per game, the highest career scoring average in franchise history. Except for his rookie season, he averaged at least 22.6 points in every full year with the Mavericks. At his peak, he was among the league’s most versatile offensive forwards, capable of punishing defenders in the post, scoring from the perimeter, and creating opportunities for teammates.
Rolando Blackman, selected ninth overall in the same draft, said Aguirre was essential to how Dallas functioned.
“Coach Dick Motta’s system had the power of the offense going through the low post,” Blackman said. “And Mark was a fantastic cog in what needed to get done.”
“He could low-post shoot, score from the outside, pass the basketball. He was just an unstoppable force.”
At 6-foot-6, Aguirre often forced opponents into uncomfortable matchups.
“They had to put power forwards and centers on Mark to slow him down,” Derek Harper said. “What Mark could do, nobody else could match that in that day.”
With Aguirre as its offensive engine, Dallas reached the 1988 Western Conference Finals, pushing the Showtime Lakers to seven games and cementing the franchise’s place on the league’s competitive map.
In honor of Mark Aguirre’s jersey retirement date in Dallas, here’s a clip of him burying Houston in an elimination game with a 27-point 3rd quarter- still 5 more than any other Maverick has ever scored in a playoff quarter: pic.twitter.com/nS0WZTA7fk
— Keith Black Trudeau (@Charlottean28) January 30, 2026
A Fracture That Defined Perception
The relationship between Aguirre and Dallas did not end smoothly.
On Feb. 15, 1989, the Mavericks traded Aguirre to the Detroit Pistons for Adrian Dantley and a first-round pick. The move stunned the league and cast a long shadow over Aguirre’s legacy in Dallas.
Aguirre said he understood the decision, even if it came painfully.
“I knew it was coming,” he said. “Mr. Carter, let me know. It was ugly, but it was what I needed in order to be me. Life goes on.”
Harper said the narrative that followed never matched the reality he experienced as a teammate.
“I think the first word I would use is that he is misunderstood personally and as a baller,” Harper said. “To label Mark a bad guy, I respectfully disagree. Let bygones be bygones.”
Former teammate Sam Perkins echoed that sentiment, saying competitive tension was often misinterpreted.
“Mark was fearless,” Perkins said. “Motta challenged him, and sometimes Mark took it the wrong way. But I really believe Motta respected him. He wanted consistency and wanted him to show he was the guy everybody thought he was.”
HISTORIC NIGHT FOR THE MAVS #MFFL
1981 No. 1 pick Mark Aguirre had his jersey retired
2025 No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg scored a career-high 49, breaking the Mavs rookie record (42) held by Aguirre pic.twitter.com/aZdHkKWDDX
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 30, 2026
Reinvention and Championships
In Detroit, Aguirre embraced a different role.
Rather than carrying an offense, he complemented one. Alongside Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Dennis Rodman, Aguirre accepted reduced usage and minutes, focusing on physicality, post play, and matchup advantages.
The Pistons won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990. Aguirre started every playoff game during the 1989 title run and remained an important contributor during the repeat, validating the franchise’s belief that his skill set and mentality fit their culture.
The former No. 1 pick had proven he could adapt without losing his edge.
“It Didn’t Feel Right Without Him”
For years, Aguirre wondered quietly if Dallas would ever formally acknowledge his place in franchise history. What sustained him were the words of former teammates who believed the omission was temporary.
“With Rolando Blackman and Derek Harper, they always told me it didn’t feel right without me up there,” Aguirre said. “That made me feel a lot better about everything.”
Mavericks CEO Rick Welts said the organization eventually reached the same conclusion.
“When you compare it to most NBA teams, very few numbers had been retired here,” Welts said. “There was one natural number missing. It’s maybe a little overdue, but at least it’s happening now.”
Harper was more direct.
“What would it look like for Derek Harper, Rolando Blackman, Brad Davis, and Dirk Nowitzki to be sitting up there and there’s no Mark Aguirre?” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
Dallas, The Place That Shaped Him
Aguirre said Dallas played a central role in shaping who he became beyond basketball.
“Coming from Chicago and coming here with Don Carter made me humble,” he said. “My mother made me take God with me when I came here. Dallas was perfect for me.”
The ceremony reflected that sentiment. A video message from Magic Johnson played on the Jumbotron. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd praised Aguirre’s toughness and competitive edge.
“When you talk about greatness, Mark is the example of that for the Dallas Mavericks,” Kidd said. “He didn’t back down from anybody.”
As the banner settled into the rafters, Aguirre stood alongside Thomas, Blackman and Harper — figures who had lived each chapter of the story with him.
“To see him honored like this,” Thomas said, “it’s bigger than any basketball moment he’s had on the floor.
“To come from where we came from and end up cherished like this — it’s a dream come true.”
The Mavericks’ first star finally took his place among the franchise’s immortals, not as a revision of history, but as its completion.
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