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Tim Hardaway Jr. Gets Tribute Video in Dallas, Almost Immediately Suffers an Injury
The Dallas Mavericks hosted the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. It was the first time that Tim Hardaway Jr. played in Dallas since the Mavericks traded him for Quentin Grimes over the summer. Hardaway had played the previous five-plus seasons with the Mavericks and was a part of the team that went to the NBA Finals last season.
The Mavericks thanked Hardaway for his time in Dallas by putting together a tribute video which was played during the first official timeout on Friday night. Then, in a cruel twist of fate, Hardaway suffered an ankle injury during the second quarter and had to be helped off the floor.
Tim Hardaway Jr. was just honored with this video during the first timeout of tonight’s game. https://t.co/t0g8OC8Ofo pic.twitter.com/z6UjxHk7tv
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) March 22, 2025
Dallas showing some love to THJ pic.twitter.com/OMZjSdxdhC
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) March 22, 2025
If you are one of those people who think the Mavericks, or at the very least, this Mavericks season is cursed, well, this makes sense. The Mavericks are having so many injury problems right now that there was a discussion about the possibility of forfeits. Then a former player who left on good terms returns and ends up needing help walking off the court after you give them a tribute video? That's just wrong.
Tim Hardaway Jr. is carried to the locker room after stepping on P.J. Washington's foot (with replays). Including the chaotic sequence just before that. pic.twitter.com/LtyLGrLhLK
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) March 22, 2025
The good news for Hardaway is that he got out of Dallas just in time. The Pistons are on the way up and he's been able to contribute this season while they made a push for the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Hardaway has averaged 10 points in 28 minutes a game for Detroit this season.
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Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.