Magic Johnson sends touching tribute to Mark Aguirre as Dallas Mavericks honor the basketball legend

Mark Aguirre recently got one of the biggest honors in his legendary basketball career. The Dallas Mavericks retired Aguirre’s No. 24 jersey to celebrate his astonishing legacy and contribution to the franchise. Just after the celebration, his long-time friend and league peer Magic Johnson sent a heartfelt note for the Mavericks legend.Los Angeles Lakers icon Johnson joined the tributes with a heartfelt post on X, revisiting their shared NBA journey. He revisited the memories of their basketball career with Aguirre as he made his name as one of the best forwards of all time.Following the announcement of Aguirre’s jersey retirement, Magic Johnson took to X to honor Mark Aguirre. “I want to congratulate Mark Aguirre on his #24 jersey retirement with the Dallas Mavericks. I met Mark and Isiah Thomas 45 years ago after they were drafted to the NBA - we formed a friendship and started training in my hometown Lansing, MI and their hometown Chicago, IL that summer. Mark was a triple threat on the basketball court and virtually unstoppable,” Johnson wrote on X. “Look at how good God is, all three of us now have our jerseys retired by the teams we played for - myself with the Lakers, Isiah with the Pistons, and now Mark with the Mavericks!,” he added, celebrating his old pal's accolade. Aguirre’s jersey now hangs in the rafters of the Mavericks home ground, American Airlines Center. It has placed him alongside Dirk Nowitzki, Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper, and Brad Davis. He was the No. 1 overall pick in 1981.During the halftime ceremony, Aguirre addressed the crowd with emotion and gratitude. “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,” he said.Aguirre spent eight seasons in Dallas. During his tenure, he earned three All-Star selections and scored 13,930 points with the franchise. He later won two NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990, finishing a 13-year career as one of the league’s most reliable scorers of his era.