Ex-Maverick, UNC National Champion, Retires From Professional Basketball

The former Maverick calls it a career after five years in the NBA and winning an NCAA Championship.

Feb 11, 2023; Sacramento, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Theo Pinson (1) gestures during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

A former Dallas Maverick has decided to call it a career in professional basketball. Theo Pinson told Dwain Price of Mavs.com that he is focused on his podcasts, broadcasting career, and his family, which now includes two kids.

Pinson is a co-host on the "Run Your Race" and "To The Baha" podcasts and recently called his first game as a college basketball color commentator for the ACC Network and ESPN. His wife also just gave birth to their second child in November, so he decided to stay home instead of going overseas. “It’s one of those things where I gave (pro basketball) a good run,” Pinson said to Price.

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This ends a five-year NBA career for Pinson, who also spent time in the G-League playing for the Texas Legends last season, averaging 16.7 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 7.4 APG, but didn't get any calls from the NBA. His last game in the NBA will go down as a legendary performance, putting up 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists with no turnovers in his lone NBA start for the Mavericks against the San Antonio Spurs. According to Price, only Fat Lever, Grant Hill, and James Harden have generated those numbers without a turnover. "I went out with a bang," Pinson said.

Pinson spent time with the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks in his NBA career, but he played 59 games in Dallas, the most he played for any team. He's most known for his college career, where he won a national championship with North Carolina in 2017 along with another former Maverick, Justin Jackson. Pinson was also on the Mavericks, where they went to the Western Conference Finals in 2022, beating the top-seeded Phoenix Suns along the way.

The Greensboro, North Carolina native will have a lasting impact on the NBA, as they were forced to change the rules on bench decorum, which has unofficially been dubbed the "Theo Pinson Rule." Because of Pinson, the NBA had "to limit prolonged standing of bench players/coaches and crowding of sideline. Warning first. Then delay-of-game warning. Then technical. Unsportsmanlike technical assessed for players not in game who enter playing court or making ‘distracting’ move."

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