The moment finally arrived at 9:07 p.m. Thursday. Joined by his five daughters, Mark Aguirre stood next to the covered banner he figured he would never see.
When the cover came off, revealing the number “24” and “Mark Aguirre” in Mavericks blue, Aguirre dabbed his tears with the handkerchief he swore he wouldn’t need. The American Airlines Center sellout crowd cheered as the banner rose to the rafters and Mavericks immortality.
At halftime of the Mavericks’ 123-121 loss to Charlotte, Aguirre, 66, became the fifth Maverick to have his jersey retired, but having endured the longest wait — 36 years, 11 months and 15 days after his last game in a Dallas uniform.
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Former Dallas Mavericks Mark Aguirre, center, shows his emotion as speaking before his jersey is lifted from the floor as the team retired No. 24 during halftime of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets at American Airlines Center, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Dallas. Dallas Mavericks legends Rolando Blackman, left, and Derek Harper, right, look on.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
“Dallas, I want to thank you for letting us represent you in the great NBA,” Aguirre told the crowd. “Dallas is an unbelievable city. You gave us the pleasure of putting on that uniform and representing you.”
Aguirre was the No. 1 overall pick of the 1981 draft, the only Maverick to have that distinction until the franchise selected Cooper Flagg last June.
Perhaps there was karma in Aguirre’s lengthy wait for this night, for it allowed Flagg to come along and, wondrously, produce 49 points against the Hornets on Aguirre’s landmark night — seemingly in homage.
Flagg’s outburst broke the single-game record by a Mavericks rookie of 42, set — would you believe it? — by Aguirre on Nov. 14, 1981, and tied by Flagg earlier this season. Aguirre’s career high was 49, also as a Maverick, on Jan. 28, 1985 — almost 41 years ago to the day.
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“The legacy rolls on,” Aguirre said during his halftime speech, at which time Flagg had 25 points.
At the Mavericks’ invitation, Aguirre was in American Airlines Center on draft night, and three days later he met Flagg before the teenager’s first news conference in Dallas.
“The first thing I talked to him about is not being afraid,” Aguirre said. “Because you can’t come into this business [afraid], especially because you’ve got a big bullseye on your back. Everybody in the whole NBA knows who you are, and they really test you.”
Flagg’s scoring outburst was a fitting exclamation point to a night full of poignant moments.
The first came during a news conference two hours before the game. When asked by The Dallas Morning News if he thought he would be able to contain his emotions, Aguirre nodded confidently.
He said he’d already gone through every conceivable emotion since learning in late October he was going to be honored. And he’d already exchanged hugs with childhood friend and Naismith Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas in the AAC hallway.
“I got all that out early,” Aguirre said, smiling.
A few minutes later, though, another reporter asked Aguirre what it meant to him to have Thomas fly in, as well as at least 10 former Mavericks teammates and coaches.
Aguirre looked at Thomas, who was standing against a wall of the interview room. Aguirre suddenly was overcome with emotion, barely able to speak.
“Well, that means so much to me. … We grew up in the same neighborhood. He knows everything about me, so when I look at him, I can’t hide anything.”
Thomas, also overcome with emotion, stepped up to the dais to hug Aguirre. Then Thomas called from the back of the room Mavericks great and Aguirre’s 1980s teammate, Rolando Blackman.
“Hey, bro, come on up here, man,” Thomas said. “We need another teammate.”
In the Mavericks’ 45 seasons, the quintet that has had numbers retired makes a potent starting five.
Brad Davis’ No. 15 was retired on Nov. 14, 1992. Blackman’s No. 22 went to the rafters on March 1, 2000. Derek Harper’s No. 12 was retired on Jan. 7, 2018. And Dirk Nowitzki’s No. 41 went to the rafters on Jan. 5, 2022.
Through the years, Blackman and Harper quietly lobbied for Aguirre’s inclusion to the exclusive club.
“Ro would always be one of the guys with my back saying, ‘Look, we don’t feel right without you, man,’” Aguirre said. “And I was like, ‘Well, man, if it happens, it happens.’ … Derek would say, ‘We miss you being up there.’”
To make room for Aguirre’s jersey banner, the Mavericks created a space between the banners of Blackman and Harper.
Perfect placement.
Blackman was in the same draft class as Aguirre, selected by Dallas No. 9 overall. Harper was drafted No. 11 overall in 1983.
In Harper’s rookie season, Aguirre averaged 29.5 points, which stood as the franchise record until Luka Doncic averaged 32.4 points during the 2022-23 season.
“His numbers, man; I don’t think people know Mark’s numbers,” Harper said. “They haven’t taken the time, because he’s been kind of an absentee member of the Dallas Mavericks.”
The Mavericks rose from 1980 expansion team to a perennial playoff team to the Western Conference elite, advancing to Game 7 of the 1988 conference finals against the Lakers before falling.
In Aguirre’s final game as a Maverick, on Valentine’s Day of 1989 in a home game against the Clippers, he scored 29 points.
The following day, he was traded to Detroit. Aguirre’s Mavericks career ended in acrimony, from both Aguirre and the team.
“The way it ended, as far as that’s concerned, you wonder if it [jersey retirement] is ever going to happen,” Blackman said.
Third-year Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont and CEO Rick Welts made the decision to retire Aguirre’s number, as well as plan Wednesday night’s honoring of Mavericks co-founder Norm Sonju, who also sat on the front row for Aguirre’s ceremony.
“With new ownership, new situations happening, there’s a renewal, man,” Blackman said. “And what I love about it is that Mark gets his due.
“And the second part is our fans get a chance to understand more about the depth of our own history. I love for our fans to know that we had great players before.”
When he got traded to Detroit, Aguirre joined Thomas, with whom he’d been friends since age 11, living three blocks apart on Chicago’s West Side.
The Pistons won the 1989 and 1990 NBA titles.
“So I want to thank the Mavericks organization, the city of Dallas, because if Mark Aguirre doesn’t come to the Detroit Pistons, we never win a championship,” Thomas said. “He’s the reason why it all happened in the way it worked out.”
Aguirre got those two championships and played his final season in 1993-94 as a Clipper. Matter of fact, Thursday was the 32nd anniversary of his last NBA game.
He attained almost everything he could in basketball, getting named to DePaul’s Hall of Fame in 1996 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
But until Thursday night, he never had closure as a Maverick.
Now he’s a Mavericks legend, for perpetuity.
Historic Mark: See photos as Mavericks honor franchise great Mark Aguirre, retire jersey
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