Outspoken Mark Aguirre Was Wrong--He Made the All-Star Team After All

The 1986 All-Star Game was set for the Mavericks’ home at Reunion Arena, and Dallas forward Mark Aguirre expected to be invited. He was certain he’d be playing on his home court, throwing passes with the NBA’s best.

When Aguirre wasn’t selected, he threw a tantrum. He thrust the blame on his well-publicized confrontations with Dick Motta, which he said generated a coaches’ conspiracy against him.

“There isn’t a better forward than I am offensively or defensively,” Aguirre said at the time. “But you just can’t insult a coach. I insulted Dick and I probably will again.

“I’m a wild, vicious type of person. I really am. That’s what makes me the kind of player I am. But I’ll never be a fan’s favorite or a coach’s favorite. I just think I can write off being an All-Star. I probably will never make it again.”

Aguirre was wrong. The 6-foot-6 forward will play in today’s All-Star Game as a reserve. And given his past disappointment, you would think Aguirre would have begun celebrating the moment he heard the news.

Hardly.

“I didn’t really care,” he said. “The game means nothing to me. I don’t think I’ll ever put a lot of emphasis on it again. If it happens, fine; if it doesn’t, that’s cool.”

Aguirre, 27, played in the 1984 game, and assumed he’d become an annual All-Star. But he wasn’t selected the next two years, and the hurt of being bypassed seems to have eliminated any thrill this game has to offer.

“I thought I had been playing up to All-Star level ever since I’d been in the NBA,” said Aguirre, a six-year NBA veteran. “If anybody looks back on my stats they feel that way, too. I’ve had some problems with Coach Motta, but statistically I should have been on the team.”

Aguirre, a former DePaul star who was the NBA’s No. 1 draft pick in 1981, began this season with a 24.6 career scoring average. At last year’s All-Star break he was scoring at a 22.5 clip. This year, the average stands at 25.7.

The numbers have not changed much, but Motta notes a change in Aguirre. First of all, the two haven’t had a major quarrel this season, and that in itself signals a new Aguirre.

“I think he’s doing a few more things defensively, doing more off the ball that he did not do in the past,” the Dallas coach said. “He’s pretty tunneled in to basketball this year. His mother died and he really seems to be more into the game mentally than he has in the past.

“Whenever he sets up in the low post there are three guys around him when he gets the ball. So (the opposition) gives him the same respect as we do with guys like (Kareem) Abdul-Jabbar.”

The Mavericks are gaining respect around the league as well. After taking the season series from the Lakers, Dallas is being regarded as one of the NBA’s elite.

For the first time in their history, the Mavericks have a fierce rebounding center in James Donaldson. They own an excellent starting backcourt in Rolando Blackman and Derek Harper, and superior depth in Sam Perkins, Brad Davis, rookie Roy Tarpley and Detlef Schrempf.

Aguirre is surrounded by pretty good talent; maybe that’s why he’ll suit up Sunday. Or maybe it’s a change in attitude, a greater focus on the team. Coaches have always looked at Aguirre as a selfish player.

“Back in my mind I always wanted to be named an All-Star,” he said. “But this year it didn’t matter if it happened or not. I was going to play hard, and we were going to be a good team.”