Mark Aguirre gets emotional as Mavs retire his No. 24 jersey | Image by NBA/website
The Dallas Mavericks retired Mark Aguirre’s No. 24 jersey Thursday night at the American Airlines Center, honoring the franchise’s first-ever No. 1 draft pick.
The emotional ceremony recognized Aguirre’s eight seasons and three All-Star appearances with the team. Aguirre becomes only the fifth Maverick to receive this honor, joining an exclusive club that includes franchise icon Dirk Nowitzki. The ceremony highlighted his foundational role in building the team’s identity.
“Dallas, I want to thank you for letting us represent you in the great NBA. Dallas is an incredible city, and you gave us the pleasure of putting on that uniform and representing you,” 66-year-old Aguirre said during the halftime ceremony, Fox 4 KDFW reported.
The Mavericks drafted Aguirre with the first overall pick in 1981. He played eight seasons in Dallas before being traded to the Detroit Pistons.
His jersey now hangs alongside four other retired numbers: Derek Harper’s No. 12, Brad Davis’ No. 15, Rolando Blackman’s No. 22, and Dirk Nowitzki’s No. 41.
Aguirre retired as a three-time NBA All-Star. His contributions helped establish the Mavericks as a competitive franchise in their early years.
While enjoying the January 29 Mavericks game, Aguirre witnessed one of his own decades-old records crumble before his eyes. He previously held the franchise rookie scoring record — 42 points against the Golden State Warriors in 1981 — but saw that smashed by Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg, who scored 49 points against the Hornets. Flagg, 19, also set the NBA record for the most points scored by a teenager. Despite his phenomenal performance, the Mavs lost by a score of 123-121.
“We got to see a young man play the game at a very high level. To have Mark in the building and break his record was pretty special,” said Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, per CBS News.