Hoops Habit
Fansided

Every single NBA team’s Mount Rushmore of stars

By Maxwell Ogden

Apr 2, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) look on in the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 2, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) look on in the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dallas Mavericks Mount Rushmore, Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki – Dallas Mavericks Mount Rushmore (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) /

The Mount Rushmore of the Dallas Mavericks

  • Mark Aguirre
  • Rolando Blackman
  • Derek Harper
  • Dirk Nowitzki

Much like Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls and LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dirk Nowitzki is a lock with the Dallas Mavericks. He’s the best player in franchise history, and there isn’t a debate worth having as of 2020.

Nowitzki is not only the only Mavericks player to win regular season MVP, but also the only individual in franchise history to secure Finals MVP—and the team’s all-time leading scorer.

The next name on the list is Rolando Blackman, who ranks amongst the most under-appreciated players in NBA history. Blackman was a four-time All-Star who helped Dallas make six postseason appearances, including a trip to the 1988 Western Conference Finals.

Blackman was the franchise’s all-time leading scorer for a period of 18 years until Nowitzki passed him, and he still happens to rank second on the list.

The third player on Dallas’ Mount Rushmore is one of Blackman’s best teammates: Mark Aguirre. A gifted scorer who averaged a franchise record 29.5 points per game in 1983-84, Aguirre ranks third all-time on the Mavericks’ scoring list.

Aguirre’s greatest achievement in Dallas came in 1988, when he led the team in scoring as they pushed the Showtime Lakers to seven games in the Conference Finals.

The fourth player on the list is the third from those famous teams of the 1980s: Derek Harper. Harper ranks third in franchise history in games played, as well as first in both steals and assists—while ranking fourth in points with nearly 13,000.

Michael Finley, Jason Kidd, and Steve Nash all made this difficult, but Harper’s 10-plus years proved to be the difference-maker here.

Next: Scorers Galore