{"id":570181,"date":"2026-01-30T06:09:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T06:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/570181\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T06:09:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T06:09:20","slug":"as-mavs-salute-franchise-great-cooper-flagg-offers-his-own-homage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/570181\/","title":{"rendered":"As Mavs salute franchise great, Cooper Flagg offers his own homage"},"content":{"rendered":"

The moment finally arrived at 9:07 p.m. Thursday. Joined by his five daughters, Mark Aguirre<\/a> stood next to the covered banner he figured he would never see<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When the cover came off, revealing the number \u201c24\u201d and \u201cMark Aguirre\u201d in Mavericks blue, Aguirre dabbed his tears with the handkerchief he swore he wouldn\u2019t need. The American Airlines Center sellout crowd cheered as the banner rose to the rafters and Mavericks immortality.<\/p>\n

At halftime of the Mavericks\u2019 123-121 loss to Charlotte, Aguirre, 66, became the fifth Maverick to have his jersey retired<\/a>, but having endured the longest wait \u2014 36 years, 11 months and 15 days after his last game in a Dallas uniform.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

\u201cDallas, I want to thank you for letting us represent you in the great NBA,\u201d Aguirre told the crowd. \u201cDallas is an unbelievable city. You gave us the pleasure of putting on that uniform and representing you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Perhaps there was karma in Aguirre\u2019s lengthy wait for this night, for it allowed Flagg to come along and, wondrously, produce 49 points<\/a> against the Hornets on Aguirre\u2019s landmark night \u2014 seemingly in homage.<\/p>\n

Flagg\u2019s outburst broke the single-game record by a Mavericks rookie of 42, set \u2014 would you believe it? \u2014 by Aguirre on Nov. 14, 1981, and tied by Flagg earlier this season<\/a>. Aguirre\u2019s career high was 49, also as a Maverick, on Jan. 28, 1985 \u2014 almost 41 years ago to the day.<\/p>\n

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\"Dallas<\/p>\n

\u201cThe legacy rolls on,\u201d Aguirre said during his halftime speech, at which time Flagg had 25 points.<\/p>\n

At the Mavericks\u2019 invitation, Aguirre was in American Airlines Center on draft night<\/a>, and three days later he met Flagg before the teenager\u2019s first news conference in Dallas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I talked to him about is not being afraid,\u201d Aguirre said. \u201cBecause you can\u2019t come into this business [afraid], especially because you\u2019ve got a big bullseye on your back. Everybody in the whole NBA knows who you are, and they really test you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flagg\u2019s scoring outburst was a fitting exclamation point to a night full of poignant moments. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

He said he\u2019d already gone through every conceivable emotion since learning in late October he was going to be honored. And he\u2019d already exchanged hugs with childhood friend and Naismith Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas in the AAC hallway. <\/p>\n

\u201cI got all that out early,\u201d Aguirre said, smiling.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Aguirre looked at Thomas, who was standing against a wall of the interview room. Aguirre suddenly was overcome with emotion, barely able to speak.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that means so much to me. \u2026 We grew up in the same neighborhood. He knows everything about me, so when I look at him, I can\u2019t hide anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 1980s teammate, Rolando Blackman.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, bro, come on up here, man,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cWe need another teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Mavericks\u2019 45 seasons, the quintet that has had numbers retired makes a potent starting five.<\/p>\n

Brad Davis\u2019 No. 15 was retired on Nov. 14, 1992. Blackman\u2019s No. 22 went to the rafters on March 1, 2000. Derek Harper\u2019s No. 12 was retired on Jan. 7, 2018. And Dirk Nowitzki\u2019s No. 41 went to the rafters on Jan. 5, 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n

Through the years, Blackman and Harper quietly lobbied for Aguirre\u2019s inclusion to the exclusive club. <\/p>\n

\u201cRo would always be one of the guys with my back saying, \u2018Look, we don\u2019t feel right without you, man,\u2019\u201d Aguirre said. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018Well, man, if it happens, it happens.\u2019 \u2026 Derek would say, \u2018We miss you being up there.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

To make room for Aguirre\u2019s jersey banner, the Mavericks created a space between the banners of Blackman and Harper.<\/p>\n

Perfect placement.<\/p>\n

Blackman was in the same draft class as Aguirre, selected by Dallas No. 9 overall. Harper was drafted No. 11 overall in 1983.<\/p>\n

In Harper\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis numbers, man; I don\u2019t think people know Mark\u2019s numbers,\u201d Harper said. \u201cThey haven\u2019t taken the time, because he\u2019s been kind of an absentee member of the Dallas Mavericks.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In Aguirre\u2019s final game as a Maverick, on Valentine\u2019s Day of 1989 in a home game against the Clippers, he scored 29 points. <\/p>\n

The following day, he was traded to Detroit. Aguirre\u2019s Mavericks career ended in acrimony, from both Aguirre and the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way it ended, as far as that\u2019s concerned, you wonder if it [jersey retirement] is ever going to happen,\u201d Blackman said. <\/p>\n

Third-year Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont and CEO Rick Welts made the decision to retire Aguirre\u2019s number, as well as plan Wednesday night\u2019s honoring of Mavericks co-founder Norm Sonju<\/a>, who also sat on the front row for Aguirre\u2019s ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith new ownership, new situations happening, there\u2019s a renewal, man,\u201d Blackman said. \u201cAnd what I love about it is that Mark gets his due.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he got traded to Detroit, Aguirre joined Thomas, with whom he\u2019d been friends since age 11, living three blocks apart on Chicago\u2019s West Side.<\/p>\n

The Pistons won the 1989 and 1990 NBA titles.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I want to thank the Mavericks organization, the city of Dallas, because if Mark Aguirre doesn\u2019t come to the Detroit Pistons, we never win a championship,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cHe\u2019s the reason why it all happened in the way it worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

He attained almost everything he could in basketball, getting named to DePaul\u2019s Hall of Fame in 1996 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.<\/p>\n

But until Thursday night, he never had closure as a Maverick.<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s a Mavericks legend, for perpetuity.<\/p>\n

Historic Mark: See photos as Mavericks honor franchise great Mark Aguirre, retire jersey<\/p>\n

\"FormerView Gallery<\/p>\n

Twitter\/X: @townbrad<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/a>Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg\u2019s historic 49-point game makes for perfect night … almost<\/a><\/p>\n

On a night when the Mavs honored franchise great Mark Aguirre, Flagg\u2019s record-setting performance came up one bucket short of a win.<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/a>Dallas Mavericks get new date for postponed road game against Milwaukee Bucks<\/a><\/p>\n

The NBA also announced a change for one of Dallas\u2019 meetings with the Grizzlies in Memphis.<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/a>Short-handed Mavericks fall to Timberwolves, but Naji Marshall keeps providing consistency<\/a><\/p>\n

Marshall authored another impressive performance in the loss, totaling 18 points and six rebounds.<\/p>\n

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The moment finally arrived at 9:07 p.m. Thursday. Joined by his five daughters, Mark Aguirre stood next to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570182,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3793],"tags":[7,225,686,149,4057,3716,166,6,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-570181","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-mavericks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cooper-flagg","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-mavericks","12":"tag-dallasmavericks","13":"tag-jason-kidd","14":"tag-mavericks","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115982564357080919","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}