The Mavericks are going to look very different on Tuesday night. The team has a new point guard, and “Fan Appreciation Night” will be his debut.
Tony Romo’s day as a member of the Mavericks
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Yep, that’s Tony Romo. The former Cowboys quarterback will suit up for the Mavericks after owner Mark Cuban teased that the team was bringing in a “pass-first point guard” to close out the year. It’s part honor, part circus sideshow — but it ensures Romo gets a proper sendoff from Dallas sports fans that he wasn’t able to with the Cowboys.
It might seem like a joke, but Romo played high school basketball before making the switch to football full-time. He was no slouch on the court either, averaging 24.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists — Romo was even a third-team all-state pick. Caron Butler used to play against Romo and has high praise for his game on the court.
“Believe it or not, man, when we were in the prime of our careers, I used to always talk about it: [Romo] could have easily been a professional basketball player,” Butler said. “And a lot of people were like, ‘Man, you’re crazy for saying that,’ but Tony could shoot. He could handle the ball. He had a knack for scoring, man, he really did.”
Now Romo will get to experience how different life could have been, if only for a night. On Tuesday he practiced with the team, and strangely looks right at home in a uniform.
Romo held a press conference after his shootaround where he laughed about how many minutes he might play and said he “feels like a turtle” compared to NBA players, poking fun at his size and build.
Romo won’t actually play any minutes in an NBA game. He will likely sit on the bench as part of his role was “Maverick for a day,” but that’s still more than any of us could say.
Ezekiel Elliott was on his way (in style!) to support his former teammate:
Dirk has jokes!
Romo is really doing this. Here he is running out of the tunnel onto the court.
Here is the pregame video that played in arena with a little Tony Romo sprinkled in.
Romo was also introduced as the “sixth” starter in the Mavericks game.
It’s easy to hate on this, but if nothing else, it’s going to be fun. Seeing Romo and Dirk Nowitzki on the same court is going to be special for Dallas sports fans — if only for a night.
