Jason Terry is as good a role player as any in the NBA. For eight seasons with the Mavericks, his steady 30-plus minutes per game and clutch three-point shooting helped make Dallas a contender. Without Terry, the Mavs likely would not have won the championship in 2011, nor would they have gone to the NBA Finals in 2006. But is he worthy of having his jersey retired?
“The bow was winning the championship, but the icing on the cake will be putting that jersey up in the rafters,” Terry told the Star-Telegram on Monday. “If it happens, I’ll be grateful.”
Terry was certainly a leader in his eight seasons in Dallas, but having a player’s jersey retired from any team is pretty rare. You’d have to assume Dirk Nowitzki will eventually have his number hanging in the rafters in Dallas, so is it possible the team would retire two numbers from the same era?
“When you start talking about a jersey in the rafters and stuff like that, he took us to the Finals and was the first point guard to do it, and all those consecutive 50-game seasons,” Terry said. “And then finally winning the championship.
“The credentials are there. Now whether or not that happens, only God knows.”
Depending on Mark Cuban’s policy for retiring numbers, I’d say it’s a long shot. Terry’s importance to the team should not be underestimated, but will he be considered a Mavericks legend when people look back on it in 30 years? If not, that honor is probably just a bit out of his reach.
Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE
