“Thank you, Dallas”: Isiah Thomas’s thank-you note to Dallas over Mark Aguirre’s 1989 trade

On February 15, 1989, the Detroit Pistons found their missing piece through a trade with the Dallas Mavericks that sent Mark Aguirre to the Motor City. And the rest is history.

In a special halftime ceremony on Thursday, when the Mavericks hosted the Hornets, the franchise also retired Mark Aguirre’s #24 jersey, honoring his career from 1981-89. He was the only 5th player whose jersey the Mavericks have retired.

Mark’s childhood friend and former teammate, Isiah Thomas, was also in attendance and took the opportunity to send a thank-you note to Dallas, appreciating Aguirre’s trade in 1989 that sent him to the Pistons.

Isiah Thomas is glad that Dallas traded Mark Aguirre to the Pistons

The Hall of Famer, Isiah Thomas, during Mark Aguirre’s #24 jersey retirement on 29th January at American Airlines Center, acknowledged that the Bad Boys era in Detroit would have never reached its summit without the Mavericks' cooperation. The trade, which sent Detroit's Adrian Dantley and a first-round pick to Dallas, remains one of the most lopsidedly successful mid-season moves in league history.

Thomas talked about the impact of the trade and how Aguirre’s arrival shifted the Pistons from contenders to champions stated: “I wanna thank the Mavericks and make sure we get this on television. So, I wanna thank the Mavericks organization, the city of Dallas, because if Mark Aguirre doesn’t come to the Detroit Pistons, we never win a championship. He is the reason why it all happened and the way it all worked out. When he came, we were six games behind Cleveland in the Central Division. After he came, we went 37-4 for the rest of the way and ended up winning the championship. That’s how good he was. So, thank you, Dallas. Thank you, Mavericks.”


Thomas’ statement is backed by numbers. Before the trade, Detroit was 31–13 but trailed the Cleveland Cavaliers in the standings. Following Mark’s acquisition, the Pistons finished the season on a blistering 32–6 run (completing a 37–4 stretch including the early playoffs), finishing with a 63–19 record.

Mark Aguirre's unceremonious trade from Dallas

Mark Aguirre was traded due to personality clashes in Dallas and was labelled as difficult, despite being a 3 time NBA All-Star and averaging 24.6 points per game. In comparison, while with Detroit, his scoring dropped from his career average of 20.0 PPG to 15.5 PPG in the 1989 playoffs, but his chemistry with Thomas was the building block of a championship dream.

The Pistons swept the 1989 NBA ring with a 4–0 against the Lakers, with Mark Aguirre averaging 7.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. The following year, during the 1990 playoff, Mark played a crucial starter role and averaged 11 per game helped Pistons compete in their 2 consecutive NBA championship finals. In a dominating fashion, the Pistons registered a 4-1 victory over the Trail Blazers to win back-to-back rings. This cemented Mark Aguirre's legacy that started with a phone call to Dallas.

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