While four teams in the NBA have yet to retire any jersey numbers—Charlotte, Toronto, Memphis, and the L.A. Clippers—the Philadelphia 76ers officially retired their eighth when Allen Iverson’s No. 3 jersey was raised to the rafters in a ceremony at the Wachovia Center Saturday night. And this week the Cleveland Cavaliers will bestow the same honour on long-time centre, Zydrunas Ilgauskas (jersey No. 11), their seventh.
That got me thinking about the best of the best in NBA history… based solely on jersey numbers. Fairly comprehensive lists on that very topic are around, but who are the best players in the game today by the numbers? Who are the guys who could be honoured by their organizations with a retirement banner some time in the future?
The list could certainly go on to include players who wore numbers in the 40s and 50s or guys like Dennis Rodman, who wore No. 91 (and 73) during his career. However, for years no player was allowed to wear a number that could not be signalled by the referees using one hand and five fingers (55—five fingers on each hand—was the highest allowed). But the Association has softened those rules and some current NBAers wear numbers like 77, 88 and 98. But of the 450 players in the league, fewer than 60 wear numbers between 35 and 99, meaning nearly 90 percent of today’s jersey numbers are from 0 to 34.
That said, there are some players/numbers—both past and present—that cannot be ignored. Here are some of the more obscure jersey numbers in NBA history:
The most hotly-contested arguments about the best player to wear certain numbers happen when Nos. 6, 23, 32, 33 and 34 enter the conversation:
6 – Bill Russell vs. Julius Irving vs. LeBron James
23 – Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James
32 – Magic Johnson vs. Karl Malone vs. Kevin McHale
33 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Larry Bird vs. Patrick Ewing vs. Scottie Pippen
34 – Shaquille O’Neal vs. Hakeem Olajuwon vs. Charles Barkley vs. Paul Pierce