After earning College Player of the Year for the 1980-81 season and competing on the 1980 U.S. Olympic basketball team, Aguirre joined the Dallas Mavericks as the first overall pick in the 1981 NBA Draft, where he racked up numerous team records including most points in a season, game, and half. He was selected to the All-Star Team in '87 and '88. Midway through the next season, he joined the Detroit Pistons who eventually won the NBA Championship that year and the following year. After accumulating 18,458 career points by the end of the '94 season, Aguirre ended his 13 year career with the Los Angeles Clippers.