Top 3 moments from Tim Hardaway Jr.'s tenure with the Dallas Mavericks

When the Dallas Mavericks acquired Tim Hardaway Jr. in a trade with the New York Knicks in 2019, some thought he would have more potential to break out and be a consistent difference-maker.

He had a couple of good seasons, but ultimately never lived up to the contract Dallas gave him.

It unfortunately didn't happen for the Mavs and Hardaway Jr. was recently traded to the Detroit Pistons.

Top 3 moments from Tim Hardaway Jr.'s tenure with the Dallas Mavericks

At the end of his Mavs tenure, Hardaway Jr.'s popularity was down significantly as he disappeared in the 2024 NBA Finals against the Celtics.

Even with a bad ending to his tenure in Big D, Hardaway Jr. had good moments wearing a Mavs jersey.

Some Mavs fans might forget some of Hardaway Jr.'s best moments in his NBA career came with the Mavs. Time to re-live his moments.

3. Setting a career-high 42 points in 2021

On April 29, 2021, the Mavs flew to the Motor City to take on the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in the middle of a tight Playoff race in the Western Conference.

Hardaway Jr. had the best game of his career as he set a career-high 42 points, which led the Mavs in scoring en route to Dallas' 115-105 win over Detroit while playing 36 minutes. Hardaway Jr. made six 3-pointers and shot 13-of-23 (57 percent) from the field. Hardaway Jr. was also perfect from the free-throw line making all 10 of his free throws. Hardaway Jr. would also add three assists and one steal.

The win helped give Dallas momentum at the end of the season as the team went 7-3 in their final 10 games of the season to finish with a 42-30 record and the fifth seed in the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

Even though toward the end of his tenure in Dallas went very poor, Hardaway Jr. can say he set his career-high in points with the Mavericks and gave the team momentum heading into the Playoffs.

2. Tying the Mavs' franchise record for most threes in a game

The number two moment of Tim Hardaway Jr.'s tenure with the Mavs came less than one week after setting a career-high in points. The Mavs flew to the 305 to take on the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on May 4, 2021.

"May the Fourth be with you" was with Tim Hardaway Jr. during the game as he led the Mavs with 36 points in the Mavs' 127-113 win over the Heat. But, Hardaway Jr. made Mavs history. In the win, Hardaway tied a Mavs franchise record for most 3-pointers made in a single game with 10. He became the third Maverick to ever make 10 3-poiners in a game along with Wesley Matthews and George McLoud. Hardaway Jr. went 10-of-18 (56 percent) from three in the win.

Making 10 3-pointers in a single game is never easy to do, but Hardaway Jr. was able to be a part of Mavericks history by doing it back in 2021. Hardaway Jr. twice made nine 3-pointers in a game and made eight 3-pointers in a game three times. Those were the other close times he was to make 10 in a game.

Having a piece of Mavericks history making 10 3-pointers to tie the franchise record for a single game, is an impressive game. Unfortunately for Hardaway Jr., he didn't get a chance to break the record with 11.

1. Five 3-pointers in the 2024 NBA Finals

Heading into Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals, the Mavs trailed the Celtics 3-0 in the series with a chance of being swept at home to lose the Finals. The Mavericks had other plans to not get swept.

The Mavs were blowing out the Celtics in the second half and head coach Jason Kidd took out his starters. After being scoreless in Game 1 and Game 3 of the Finals, Hardaway Jr. didn't disappoint.

After being unplayable in most of the 2024 Playoffs, Hardaway Jr. set a Mavs single game Finals record with the most 3-pointers made with five in Dallas' 122-84 win over Boston. Despite the Mavs losing the series the next game and Hardaway Jr. being a liability in three of Dallas' four Finals losses, his best moment came in the Finals and he has a Mavs Finals record. Some might remember his poor play in Game 5 more when he disappeared and went scoreless in under 10 minutes.

Most Mavs fans will remember Hardaway Jr. mostly for being a liability and inconsistent player, but Hardaway Jr. was able to provide moments for Mavs fans. The team is ready to move forward without him, and Hardaway Jr. will look for a fresh start in the Motor City.

Even though most people remember the bad and the ugly more, remembering the good of what Hardaway Jr. did for the Mavs organization is needed too.