NBA’s greatest players by jersey number, from ‘The Chief’ to ‘Mr. Basketball’ (2024)

Glance at the number 23 and an NBA fan will immediately think of Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

But who was the best No. 23 in basketball history, His Airness or King James?

Look at No. 33 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Larry Bird come to mind.

But who was the best No. 33, the Captain or Larry Legend?

Debates like these make sports great. And with the coronavirus grinding life as we knew it to a temporary halt, we need some fun these days.

These are our picks for the best player at each jersey number, Nos. 00 to No. 99, but the exercise isn’t nearly as simple as it might seem. A few necessary qualifiers here before we get the discussion going:

• The jersey disclaimer: Each player is being evaluated for how he played while he wore each specific jersey number under consideration. Patrick Ewing, for instance, wore No. 6 during his final NBA season, his undistinguished 65 games with the Orlando Magic. But as we considered the best No. 6 ever, we did not take into account Ewing’s exploits wearing No. 33 for the New York Knicks.

• The ABA quandary: We love the ABA, with its high-flying, wide-open style of play and its innovations, such as the 3-point line. But for this exercise, we only considered NBA jersey numbers. So with No. 32, for example, we did not include Julius Erving’s transcendent time with the ABA’s Virginia Squires and New York Nets.

You might not agree with many of our choices, but that’s the whole point. At a time when sports are not being played, we hope that everyone’s shared love for the game’s history can unite us.

And so we begin.

00: Robert Parish

Known best for his 14-season run with the Boston Celtics, “The Chief” holds the NBA record for regular-season games played, 1,611. His accomplishments go beyond mere longevity, though. Sharing frontcourt duties with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, Parish won four NBA titles and made nine All-Star teams.

Honorable Mentions
Kevin Duckworth, Aaron Gordon, Spencer Hawes

0: Russell Westbrook

A nine-time All-Star and the 2016-17 league MVP, Westbrook is one of only two NBA players to average a triple-double for an entire season — and Westbrook accomplished the feat in three consecutive seasons, all with the Thunder. Westbrook’s combination of speed and power may be unmatched at the point guard position.

Honorable Mentions
Gilbert Arenas, Andre Drummond, Damian Lillard, Orlando Woolridge

1: Oscar Robertson

Since “The Big O” only wore No. 1 during his four seasons in Milwaukee, one could argue that Tracy McGrady should be the winner here. But while T-Mac was a two-time scoring champ, seven-time All-Star and fellow Hall of Famer, his teams lost eight consecutive first-round playoff series. Robertson, meanwhile, won his only title with the Bucks in 1971 and reshaped the free agency futures of all players by way of his lawsuit against the NBA.

Honorable Mentions
Tiny Archibald, Chris Bosh, Baron Davis, Penny Hardaway, Tracy McGrady, Derrick Rose

2: Kawhi Leonard

A force on both ends, Leonard is the only player in league history to earn a Finals MVP in each conference, winning with the Spurs in 2014 and Raptors in 2019. A case could be made here for Hall of Fame center Moses Malone, but No. 2 was one of six jersey numbers Malone wore during his NBA career. Leonard has worn No. 2 in all nine of his seasons, with all three of his teams.

Honorable Mentions
Alex English, Larry Johnson, Moses Malone, Mitch Richmond, John Wall

Allen Iverson heads upcourt during the 2003 NBA Playoffs. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

3: Allen Iverson

The combination of A.I.’s smallish stature, endless swagger and dizzying style made him one of the most influential and entertaining players in the history of the game. In all, he was a Rookie of the Year, an 11-time All-Star, three-time first-team All-NBA selection, four-time scoring champ and one-time MVP. Dwyane Wade was a close second here.

Honorable Mention
Dennis Johnson, Chris Paul, Drazen Petrovic, Dwyane Wade, Ben Wallace

4: Dolph Schayes

Schayes, a 12-time All-Star whose pro career spanned 1949-64, was one of the NBA’s first superstars. At 6-8, he primarily played power forward. He won his lone NBA title during the 1954-55 season, leading the Syracuse Nationals in points (18.5) and rebounds (12.3) per game. In 1996, the league named him one of its 50 greatest players in history.

Honorable Mentions
Adrian Dantley, Joe Dumars, Sidney Moncrief, Jerry Sloan, Chris Webber

5: Jason Kidd

This pick will be unpopular in Boston, where Kevin Garnett’s six seasons wearing this jersey with the Celtics included the 2008 title, a Defensive Player of the Year Award and five All-Star appearances. But when Kidd wore No. 5 in New Jersey, he was the driving (and dishing) force behind their back-to-back Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003. He also wore this number in Dallas from 1994 to 1997 and for one season in New York (2012-13), earning six All-Star appearances, two assist crowns and two first-team All-Defense selections wearing this number.

Honorable Mentions
Baron Davis, Kevin Garnett, Robert Horry, Guy Rodgers, Bill Walton

Bill Russell faces off against Wilt Chamberlain in a 1968 game at Boston Garden. (Dick Raphael / NBAE via Getty Images)

6: Bill Russell

Arguably the greatest player ever, Russell led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA titles, including eight consecutive titles from 1959 to 1966. The first black head coach in NBA history, Russell guided the Celtics to championships as a player-coach in 1968 and 1969. Russell, a five-time league MVP, dominated games with his shot-blocking and rebounding.

Honorable Mentions
Walter Davis, Julius Erving, LeBron James, Neil Johnston, Kristaps Porzingis

7: Carmelo Anthony

If only Anthony would have waited for free agency to get to New York in the summer of 2011, rather than forcing Denver into a trade midway through the previous season that gutted the Knicks roster and took away his best chance at real title contention, then perhaps this disappointing chapter of his career would have ended differently. Still, he was an all-time scoring great during those six-plus seasons wearing No. 7 for the Knicks (six All-Star appearances, a scoring title in 2012-13, two first-round playoff losses and a second-round loss, third in MVP voting in 2012-13). Anthony wore No. 15 during his Nuggets days.

Honorable Mentions
Tiny Archibald, Kevin Johnson, Joe Johnson, Rashard Lewis, Kyle Lowry, Pete Maravich, Lamar Odom, Jermaine O’Neal, Andy Phillip, Brandon Roy

Kobe Bryant drives the lane against the San Antonio Spurs in 2001. (Mike Nelson /AFP via Getty Images)

8: Kobe Bryant

One of the most dynamic players in league history, armed with a legendary competitive streak, Bryant won the first three of his five NBA titles and the first of his two scoring titles wearing No. 8. After 10 seasons, he changed to No. 24 at the start of the 2006-07 season.

Honorable Mentions
Walt Bellamy, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, Eddie Johnson, Marques Johnson, Antoine Walker, Kemba Walker, Deron Williams

9: Bob Pettit

Pettit was dominant from the time he came out of LSU in 1954 to his retirement in 1965. He was an All-Star in all 11 of his pro seasons, a first-team All-NBA selection 10 times, a two-time MVP and a champion just once (1958 with the St. Louis Hawks) because of Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics, who won three of the teams’ four Finals matchups.

Honorable Mentions
Richie Guerin, Andre Iguodala, Rashard Lewis, Dan Majerle,Tony Parker, Rajon Rondo

10: Walt Frazier

Frazier, a seven-time All-Star point guard, sparked the New York Knicks to NBA titles in 1970 and 1973. Frazier played with flair and grit. He made the NBA All-Defensive first team seven times and led the Knicks in scoring in five consecutive seasons.

Honorable Mentions
Tiny Archibald, Otis Birdsong, Maurice Cheeks, Bob Dandridge, DeMar DeRozan, Joe Fulks, Tim Hardaway, Red Kerr, Bob Love, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Dennis Rodman, Jo Jo White

11: Isiah Thomas

Not many players can say they got the best of the great Michael Jordan. Yet “Zeke,” whose Pistons took out Jordan’s Bulls in three consecutive postseasons from 1988 to 1990 while winning back-to-back titles in those final two years, was much more than a worthy MJ rival. Thomas was a rare combination of grit and grace, finishing with 12 All-Star appearances and averaging 19.2 points and 9.3 assists for his career.

Honorable Mentions
Paul Arizin, Chuck Cooper, Bob Davies, Harry Gallatin, Elvin Hayes, Earl Lloyd, Bob McAdoo, Yao Ming, Klay Thompson

12: John Stockton

A 10-time All-Star, the NBA’s career leader in total assists by a wide margin and a member of the original Dream Team — those are just some of the qualifications that earned the Utah Jazz’s longtime point guard this spot. We seriously considered the Cincinnati Royals’ Maurice Stokes here, whose all-too-brief career ended after three seasons due to a brain injury sustained during a game.

Honorable Mentions
LaMarcus Aldridge, Dick Barnett, Vlade Divac, Dwight Howard, Pat Riley, Maurice Stokes, George Yardley

Wilt Chamberlain looks to pass, in 1967, in one of his legendary duels against Bill Russell (Dick Raphael / NBAE via Getty Images)

13: Wilt Chamberlain

The man scored 100 points in a single NBA game, back on that storied March 2, 1962, night in Hershey, Pa., when his Philadelphia Warriors downed the Knicks 169-147. That alone would get him on this short list, but there was plenty more where that came from: two titles, four MVPs, 13 All-Star appearances, 11 rebounding crowns and that 1967-68 season when — just for fun — he led the league in total assists (Robertson had a higher per-game total — 9.7 to Chamberlain’s 8.6 — but played just 65 games that season).

Honorable Mentions
Steve Nash, Paul George, James Harden, Mark Jackson, Sarunas Marciulonis, Joakim Noah

14: Oscar Robertson

Robertson was one of the most dominant players in NBA history, a 12-time All-Star point guard who averaged at least 30 points per game six times and at least 10 assists per game five times. He was the first NBA player to average a triple-double over an entire season. Robertson wore No. 14 for the first 10 seasons of his career, all with the Cincinnati Royals.

Honorable Mentions
Bob Cousy, Arnie Risen, Lenny Wilkens

15: Tommy Heinsohn

Yes, the NBA was different back then. There were just eight teams when Heinsohn won his first title with those Bill Russell-led Celtics and nine teams when he won his eighth. But the Hall of Famer’s production (18.6 points, 8.8 rebounds per game in his nine-year career) was crucial to their dominance. He finished with six All-Star appearances and led the Celtics in scoring three times.

Honorable Mentions
Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, Wayne Embry, Tom Gola, Hal Greer, Nikola Jokic, Dick McGuire, Earl Monroe, Kemba Walker, Metta World Peace

16: Jerry Lucas

It’s a tough call to select Lucas over Bob Lanier here. But we’re going with Lucas since he had three first-team All-NBA selections to Lanier’s none. In 1997, Lucas was named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, while Lanier wasn’t. Lucas wore No. 16 during his seven seasons with the Cincinnati Royals, averaging 19.6 points and 19.1 rebounds per game over that stretch. Though only 6-8, Lucas was a fearsome rebounder.

Honorable Mentions
Al Attles, Pau Gasol, Cliff Hagen, Bob Lanier, Al McGuire, Tom Sanders

John Havlicek looks to shoot during a game in 1973. (Focus on Sport / Getty Images)

17: John Havlicek

By the time Havlicek came along in 1962, Russell needed even more help than ever on the scoring end (Russell’s high mark during their seven seasons together was 16.8 points per game, with a low of 9.9). Havlicek filled that role beautifully before and after Russell was gone, averaging 20.8 points in a 16-year career that included eight championships (including two post-Russell), 13 All-Star appearances and eight All-Defensive selections to boot.

Honorable Mentions
Don Barksdale, Chris Mullin, Jim Pollard

18: Dave Cowens

An eight-time All-Star center and the 1972-73 league MVP, Cowens was a central figure on the Boston Celtics’ teams that won NBA titles in 1974 and 1976. Though “just” 6-foot-9, Cowens dominated the glass, averaging at least 15.0 rebounds per game in five seasons.

Honorable Mentions
Phil Jackson, Hot Rod Williams

19: Willis Reed

If Knicks fans need a break from all these decades of dysfunction and failure, just head over to YouTube to watch old highlightsof the man who helped deliver the franchise’s only championships (1970, 1973). Reed, who was the Finals MVP both times, finished with one regular-season MVP award (1969-70), seven All-Star appearances and that magical Game 7 entrance in 1970, which remains one of the NBA’s all-time greatest moments.

Honorable Mentions
Vern Mikkelsen, Don Nelson, Lenny Wilkens

20: Gary Payton

“The Glove” earned his nickname because of his smothering defense. A nine-time NBA All-Defensive first team selection and a nine-time All-Star, Payton led the 1995-96 Seattle SuperSonics to the Western Conference title and contributed off the bench when the 2005-06 Miami Heat won the NBA title.

Honorable Mentions
Ray Allen, Doug Collins, Manu Ginobili. Allan Houston, Maurice Lucas, Micheal Ray Richardson

21: Tim Duncan

The longevity of Duncan’s greatness is the best part of his legacy. He was special from beginning to end, earning his first of 15 All-Star appearances in his rookie season (1997-98), the first of 15 All-Defensive selections in that same season, back-to-back MVP honors shortly thereafter (2001-02 and 2002-03) and five titles that came over the course of 15 years.

Honorable Mentions
Dave Bing, Michael Cooper, Joel Embiid, Sleepy Floyd, World B. Free, Kevin Garnett, Truck Robinson, Bill Sharman, Dominique Wilkins

22: Elgin Baylor

A 6-foot-5 wing, Baylor arguably was the NBA’s first transcendent above-the-rim player. Still, because his Lakers teams never won a title, he doesn’t receive the credit he deserves. Just how dynamic was he? He averaged 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per game during his 14-year career. He was a 10-time first-team All-NBA selection.

Honorable Mentions
Dave DeBusschere, Clyde Drexler, Ed Macauley, Slater Martin, Larry Nance Sr., Ricky Pierce, John Salley, Andrew Toney

Michael Jordan dunks against the 76ers at the Spectrum in Philadelphia in 1996. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

23: Michael Jordan

Once Jordan found a way to get past those Pistons, he owned the league in the kind of way that only a few others on this list can claim. Six rings in six Finals tries (and Finals MVP every time). Five regular-season MVP honors. A Defensive Player of the Year award (1987-88) to go with nine All-Defensive first-team selections. MJ’s list of accomplishments, of course, would have been even longer if he didn’t take a break to play baseball after his father was killed in 1993. Now before the LeBron stans start shouting about how he was robbed here in the great GOAT debate, remember that we’re only judging players based on what they did in each jersey. So while James’ one title (in five Finals tries), 12 All-Star appearances, two MVPs (2008-09, 2009-10) and a scoring title (2007-08) achieved in No. 23 are impressive, it doesn’t match MJ.

Honorable Mentions
Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, LeBron James, Calvin Murphy, Frank Ramsey, Mitch Richmond

24: Kobe Bryant

Bryant switched from No. 8 to No. 24 after the 2005-06 season, and then he won his second consecutive scoring title. Bryant captured his fourth and fifth NBA championships in 2009 and 2010, both times without Shaquille O’Neal as a teammate. Rick Barry earned some consideration here, having worn No. 24 in the NBA for eight seasons.

Honorable Mentions
Mark Aguirre, Rick Barry, Bill Bradley, Tom Chambers, Joel Embiid, Spencer Haywood, Dennis Johnson, Bobby Jones, Sam Jones, Moses Malone, Reggie Theus

25: Gail Goodrich

These days, Goodrich’s name is most often heard when discussing the Steph Curry-Klay Thompson-driven debate about the NBA’s best backcourts of all time. He was, of course, the standout sidekick to Jerry West for the Lakers from 1965 to 1974. But Goodrich played his own way into the Hall of Fame, earning five All-Star appearances and playing a massive part in that Finals win over the Knicks in 1972 (25.6 points per game in a five-game series. West averaged 19.8 and Chamberlain 19.4).

Honorable Mentions
Bill Cartwright, Gus Johnson, K.C. Jones, Steve Kerr, Mark Price, Doc Rivers, Chet Walker

26: Kyle Korver

No offense intended to Korver, but it’s slim pickings here at No. 26. Korver, however, is one of the best long-range shooters in NBA history. He ranks fourth in career 3-pointers, with 2,437, trailing only Ray Allen, Reggie Miller and Stephen Curry. Hall of Famer Buddy Jeannette wore No. 26 — but just for one season, and that was with the Baltimore Bullets of the old Basketball Association of America. Korver has worn No. 26 since his rookie season.

Honorable Mentions
Spencer Dinwiddie, Buddy Jeannette

27: Jack Twyman

The longtime Royals star was a wonderful player, good enough to earn a spot in six All-Star games (three in this jersey) while averaging 31.2 points and 8.9 rebounds in the 1959-60 season (his career mark was 19.2). But his best work came off the court, where he spent decades assisting Stokes after his life-changing accident, and later inspired the NBA’s Twyman-Stokes award that goes to the league’s best teammate.

Honorable Mentions
Rudy Gobert, Joe Caldwell

28: Wayne Embry

We have to be upfront here: Embry’s five All-Star selections all occurred when he wore No. 15 from 1961-66 for the Cincinnati Royals. The 6-foot-8 center wore No. 28 only during the 1966-67 and 1967-68 seasons with the Boston Celtics, but the Celtics won the 1967-68 title. Embry was a pioneering NBA executive and remains one of the league’s true gentlemen. Andre Iguodala has worn No. 28, but only for his 14 games during the 2019-20 season with the Miami Heat.

Honorable Mentions
Quinn Buckner, Andre Iguodala. Andrew Lang, Frank Selvy

29: Paul Silas

If “Never Nervous” Pervis Ellison had proven worthy of the No. 1 pick that the Sacramento Kings used to land him in 1989 rather than being mostly mediocre during his injury-riddled career, then perhaps Silas would be second here. Instead, Silas, a two-time All-Star, gets the well-deserved honor. He won two titles with Boston (1974, 1976) and a third with Seattle (1979).

Honorable Mentions
Pervis Ellison, Mike Wilks (yes, the pickings were that slim)

Stephen Curry celebrates after he made yet another 3-pointer. (Kyle Terada / USA Today)

30: Stephen Curry

The game’s greatest shooter ever, Curry was the most recognizable figure on the Golden State Warriors dynasty of the 2010s, leading the Warriors to three NBA championships and two runner-up finishes. A two-time league MVP, Curry won the 2015-16 league scoring title, averaging 30.1 points per game. As much as anyone else, Curry glamorized the 3-point shot.

Honorable Mentions
Dell Curry, Bernard King, George McGinnis, Kenny Smith, Rasheed Wallace, David West

31: Reggie Miller

Long before the league’s 3-point explosion arrived, Miller was the game’s best-ever marksman. Miller, a five-time All-Star who is 21st on the league’s all-time scoring list, retired in 2005 as the all-time leader in 3s made (2,560), was later passed by Ray Allen and is on track to see Curry take the top spot in fewer than two seasons.

Honorable Mentions
Shane Battier, Zelmo Beaty, Shawn Marion, Kurt Rambis, Jason Terry, Jack Twyman

Magic Johnson redefined the point guard position. (Rocky Widner / NBAE via Getty Images)

32: Magic Johnson

An electrifying player with a magnetic personality, Magic redefined the point guard position, proving that someone 6-foot-9 could run an offense, lead a fast break and be a super-creative passer. The embodiment of the 1980s Showtime Lakers, Johnson won three league MVPs and three Finals MVPs, as well as five NBA titles.

Honorable Mentions
Billy Cunningham, Julius Erving (ABA), Blake Griffin, Rip Hamilton, Jason Kidd, Jerry Lucas, Karl Malone, Kevin McHale, Shaquille O’Neal, Karl-Anthony Towns, Bill Walton

33: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The league’s all-time leading scorer. The only player ever to win six MVPs. A six-time champion who won it all with two teams (Bucks, Lakers) over the span of 20 seasons. Third all-time in blocks. Third all-time in rebounding. And as if that résumé wasn’t enough, there was his role in “Airplane,”too.

Honorable mentions
Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, Marc Gasol, Grant Hill, Antawn Jamison, Alonzo Mourning, Scottie Pippen, Charlie Scott, David Thompson

34: Hakeem Olajuwon

Picking Olajuwon over Shaquille O’Neal here will infuriate many people. O’Neal was great, and the totality of his career probably eclipses Olajuwon’s. But O’Neal wore No. 34 for eight seasons, while Olajuwon wore it throughout his entire 18-year career. “The Dream” wasn’t exactly chopped liver, either. He won two NBA titles and was selected to the NBA All-Defensive first or second team nine times.

Honorable Mentions
Ray Allen, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Charles Barkley, Clyde Lovellette, Charles Oakley, Shaquille O’Neal, Paul Pierce

35: Kevin Durant

Remember when folks acted like Durant’s inability to bench press 185 pounds coming out of Texas was going to hold him back? Thirteen years later, with the Nets star still recovering from that Achilles’ tendon tear suffered while with the Warriors in the 2019 Finals, the one-time MVP, two-time champion, two-time Finals MVP and 10-time All-Star could walk away now and be remembered as one of the best players of all time.

Honorable Mentions
Roger Brown, Larry Kenon, Rudy LaRusso, Reggie Lewis, Paul Silas

36: Rasheed Wallace

Best known for wearing No. 30, Wallace primarily wore No. 36 with the Detroit Pistons from the start of the 2004-05 season to the end of the 2007-08 season. Wallace made two All-Star teams during that stretch and helped the Pistons win the 2004-05 Eastern Conference title.

Honorable Mentions
Dave Cowens, Shaquille O’Neal, Marcus Smart

37: Metta World Peace

Only six players ever wore this number, but World Peace (formerly Ron Artest) was the one who wore it while saving the day for the Lakers in their 2010 Finals Game 7 win over Boston. On that night, when Kobe Bryant played some of the worst basketball of his life, World Peace had 20 points, five steals and a huge 3-pointer late. This was just one of World Peace’s seven jersey numbers he wore during his career.

Honorable Mentions
Derek Fisher

38: Kwame Brown

The No. 1 overall pick in 2001, Brown never lived up to those massive expectations, but he carved out a very respectable 12-year career. He wore three numbers as a pro, and his stint wearing No. 38 lasted only the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons with the Detroit Pistons. He was underwhelming then, but he was better than anyone who’s ever worn the jersey.

Honorable Mentions
Viktor Khryapa, Ron Knight

39: Dwight Howard

It was tempting to go with the early 2000s Greg Ostertag here (he wore it for two seasons in Utah), but Howard gets the nod for the surprising and selfless way that he has helped the Lakers this season while coming off the bench. It’s the least we could do since Stockton beat him out at No. 12.

Honorable Mentions
Jerami Grant, Greg Ostertag

40: Shawn Kemp

Combining power with explosive leaping ability, Kemp received six All-Star nods — five with the Seattle SuperSonics, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers. His better individual stats help him edge out Bill Laimbeer here, even though Laimbeer was a key member of the Detroit Pistons’ famed Bad Boys teams.

Honorable Mentions
Harrison Barnes, Calbert Cheaney, Bill Laimbeer, Udonis Haslem, Kurt Thomas

Dirk Nowitzki’s fadeaway jumper was unguardable. (Soobum Im / USA Today)

41: Dirk Nowitzki

When Nowitzki came to the league from Germany in 1998, 7-footers still belonged in the paint. Alas, after a slow start in his rookie season that left Dallas Mavericks executives wondering if he’d pan out, he dominated as a revolutionary outside scorer for two decades en route to becoming a 14-time All-Star, one-time MVP and one-time champ (2010-11 over LeBron James’ Miami Heat).

Honorable Mentions
Glen Rice, Wes Unseld, Jamaal Wilkes

42: Nate Thurmond

The popular pick here would be James Worthy, who was a great player and a critical member of most of the Lakers’ Showtime teams. But we’re going with Thurmond, a 6-foot-11 big who excelled on both ends of the court, and especially as a rebounder, averaging 15.0 points and 15.0 boards over his entire career. True, Thurmond never won a title. But he never had the good fortune of playing alongside Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper, either.

Honorable Mentions
Connie Hawkins, Spencer Haywood, Al Horford, Kevin Love, Jerry Stackhouse, James Worthy

43: Jack Sikma

Sikma, who averaged 15.6 points and 9.8 rebounds in his 14-year career and was an All-Star seven times, is one of the more underrated big men of all time. He won a title with Seattle in just his second season (1978-79), averaging 16.2 points, 14.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks against the Washington Bullets in the five-game Finals.

Honorable Mentions
Brad Daugherty, Terry Dischinger, Jeff Ruland, Pascal Siakam

44: Jerry West

For the younger folks among us, West’s success as an executive obscures his remarkable playing career. That’s a shame, because West truly was a great player. A fantastic outside shooter known as “Mr. Clutch,” West finished his 14-year career averaging 27.0 points on 47 percent shooting. He was a first-team All-NBA selection 10 times and won his lone title in 1972.

Honorable Mentions
George Gervin, Elvin Hayes, Dan Issel, Pete Maravich, Paul Westphal

45: Rudy Tomjanovich

“Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion.”

Tomjanovich is forever remembered for what he said as a coach after his Houston Rockets won the title in 1995, but he lived by those words as a player, too. His career was brutally interrupted midway through his seventh season, when he was floored by that Kermit Washington punch on Dec. 9, 1977 that changed both of their lives forever. Tomjanovich was already a four-time All-Star by then, but would go on earn a fifth All-Star selection in 1979 after he recovered.

Honorable mentions
Phil Chenier, Adrian Dantley. A.C. Green, Michael Jordan, Chuck Person, Geoff Petrie, Rik Smits

46: Aron Baynes

Yes, that Aron Baynes. Look, according to Basketball Reference, only six NBA players have ever worn No. 46. Baynes is the best of the bunch. A hard-nosed defender, the Australian center started a total of 85 games for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 Celtics, the first two seasons he wore this number. His 3-point shooting improved this season with the Phoenix Suns, rising to a career-best 35.1 percent.

Honorable Mentions
Dennis Bell, Bo Outlaw

47: Andrei Kirilenko

“AK-47” was as imposing a two-way threat as you could find during his early years in Utah, even earning his lone All-Star selection in 2003-04. The Russian remained important to those Jerry Sloan teams even after his production waned, with the Jazz making the playoffs in six of his 10 seasons in Salt Lake City (including one Western Conference finals appearance in 2007).

Honorable mention
Scott Willliams

48: Nazr Mohammed

A 6-foot-10 big, Mohammed played for eight teams over 18 seasons. On one of those stops, with the Chicago Bulls from 2012-15, he wore No. 48.

Honorable Mention
Walt Gilmore

49: Shandon Anderson

Well, he was better than the only other player to wear this number, Mel McCants. And talk about going out on a high note.

After Anderson’s 10 seasons and 719 regular-season games with four teams, his final playoff game earned him his one-and-only ring: Miami’s Game 6 win in the 2006 Finals against Dallas in which Anderson played three minutes and Mr. Heat, Dwyane Wade, had 36 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks.

Honorable Mention
Mel McCants

50: David Robinson

An agile center from the Naval Academy, “The Admiral” spent all 14 of his seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, winning championships in 1999 and 2003. The league MVP in 1994-95, he won one scoring title, one rebounding title and one blocked-shot title. A member of the original Dream Team, he won gold medals at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.

Honorable Mentions
Ed Macauley, Zach Randolph, Ralph Sampson

51: Reggie King

The Alabama product played just six seasons after being taken 18th overall by the Kansas City Kings in 1979. His best showing, by far, came in a 1980-81 campaign in which he averaged 14.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals.

Honorable Mentions
Michael Doleac, Lawrence Funderburke, Michael Ruffin

52: Jamaal Wilkes

Nicknamed “Silk,” Wilkes had an outside shot that was unorthodox but effective. The UCLA alumnus won an NBA title as a rookie, averaging 15.0 points per game in the postseason for the 1974-75 Golden State Warriors, and then won titles with the 1979-80 and 1981-82 Lakers. He was a well-rounded player, earning two NBA All-Defensive second-team nods in the mid-’70s.

Honorable Mentions
George Johnson, Buck Williams

53: Artis Gilmore

After dominating the ABA with the Kentucky Colonels from 1971 to 1976, the 7-foot-2 “A-Train” made a seamless transition to the NBA with the Bulls and just kept on chugging. He was an All-Star six times, with four of those appearances coming during his time with Chicago.

Honorable Mentions
Darryl Dawkins, Mark Eaton, James Edwards

54: Horace Grant

Grant was instantly recognizable for three reasons: his goggles, his gritty play (especially on the boards) and his relatively unusual number, which he wore throughout his highly decorated 17-year NBA career. Grant was the starting power forward on the Chicago Bulls’ first three championship teams and on the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2000-01 championship team.

Honorable Mentions
Kent Benson, Howard Porter

Dikembe Mutombo averaged 3.2 blocks per game during his five seasons with the Hawks. (Steven R. Schaefer / AFP via Getty Images)

55: Dikembe Mutombo

In the absence of a finger-wagging emoji that could speak for itself, we offer this: eight All-Star appearances, four Defensive Player of the Year awards, a second-place standing all-time in blocks and an upset for the ages when his eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets downed the top-seeded Seattle SuperSonics in the first round in 1994.

In that series, where Mutombo blocked an incredible 31 shots in five games, who could ever forget the incredible image shot of Mutumbo, his back on the court, soaking in that moment?

Honorable Mentions
Roy Hibbert, Kiki VanDeWeghe, Jason Williams

56: Francisco Elson

A center born in the Netherlands, Elson wore No. 56 for the Denver Nuggets during the first three seasons of his nine-year NBA career. He later won a ring as a member of the 2006-07 San Antonio Spurs. He carved out a solid journeyman career, but let’s face it: Pro football’s most famous No. 56, Lawrence Taylor, was more recognizable than pro basketball’s most famous No. 56. Well, except maybe in the Netherlands.

Honorable Mentions
Brandon Hunter, Sean Williams

57: Hilton Armstrong

He is the only one to wear this number, and he did so during the 2013-14 Golden State season, in which he played 15 games, averaged 6.5 minutes and the Warriors lost in the first round to the Clippers. That’s it. That’s the write-up.

60: Jonathan Gibson

Gibson, a 6-foot-2 point guard, is the only player to wear No. 60 in a regular-season NBA game. He wore the number in four games with the 2017-18 Celtics.

61: Dave Piontek

Piontek, who played for seven seasons and had a career-high effort with 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds with the Cincinnati Royals in the 1958-59 campaign, barely edges out the only other candidate.

Honorable Mention
Beno Nordmann

62: Scot Pollard

A 6-foot-11 center, Pollard played for five teams during his 11 NBA seasons. He wore No. 62 in his third stop, his three seasons with the Indiana Pacers from 2003-06. He remains the only NBA player to don No. 62.

63: Coty Clarke

Clarke went undrafted out of Arkansas in 2014, played three games with Boston in the 2015-16 season and was last reported to have played in Puerto Rico. No one else has worn this number.

65: George Ratkovicz

He averaged 9.2 and 6.9 rebounds during six NBA seasons playing for the Syracuse Nationals, Baltimore Bullets and Milwaukee Hawks. No one else wore this number.

66: Andrew Bogut

Bogut, a defensive-minded Australian center drafted first overall in 2005, wore No. 6 and No. 12 with four of his five teams. But he donned No. 66 during his 2017-18 stint with the Lakers. Jordan Clarkson had dibs on No. 6, while Channing Frye owned No. 12. So Bogut chose 66.

Honorable Mention
Scot Pollard

67: Taj Gibson

The 11-year veteran has been a true professional in every sense of the word, averaging 9.5 rebounds and 6.3 rebounds in 11 seasons while playing for the Bulls, Thunder, Timberwolves and Knicks.

Honorable mention
Moe Becker

70: Dennis Rodman

Leave it to Rodman to pick such a relatively obscure number, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Rodman wore it during his final season, with the 1990-00 Dallas Mavericks. Signed on Feb. 3, 2000, he was waived on March 8, 2000, having appeared in just 12 games.

Honorable Mention
Frank Selvy

71: Willie Naulls

So Shandon Anderson had quite the walk-off moment with No. 49 (see above), but Naulls’ might be even better. After earning four All-Star berths with the Knicks, he won three titles with the rival Celtics in his final three seasons of a 10-year career that spanned 1956-1966.

Honorable Mentions
McCoy McLemore, Bob Wiesenhahn

72: Jason Kapono

Kapono, a 6-foot-8 wing from UCLA, wore No. 72 during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. Kapono was a superb 3-point shooter, making 43.4 percent of his long-range attempts throughout his career. No one else has worn No. 72.

73: Dennis Rodman

“The Worm” wins this one-man competition for his efforts with the Lakers in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season (23 games; 11.2 rebounds, 28.6 minutes per game). Rodman had an inauspicious end with the Lakers, as he was waived before the playoffs — with Bryant’s approval.

“When a guy shows up continuously late …” Bryant said at the time. “Yeah, it was justified.”

The Lakers would go on to fall in the second round to San Antonio.

76: Shawn Bradley

The No. 2 overall pick in 1993 — one spot behind Chris Webber and one spot ahead of Penny Hardaway — the 7-foot-6 Bradley chose a jersey number that matched his height, and also matched the nickname of the team that drafted him, the Philadelphia 76ers. He didn’t last long in Philly. The team traded him after two-plus seasons, and he went on to wear No. 45 and No. 44 for the remainder of his career.

Luka Doncic (right) is averaging 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists in his second NBA season. (Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)

77: Luka Doncic

You know how you get on a list like this in just your second season? By playing at a level that only two other players have reached in the history of the game. That’s the case in this suspended season, as Doncic (54 games played) was on track to join Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook as the only players to average at least 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists per game.

Honorable Mentions
Gheorghe Muresan, Vladimir Radmanovic

81: José Calderón

There wasn’t anything particularly impressive about Calderón’s one season wearing this number for Cleveland in 2017-18, or the second season when he wore it in Detroit, but they were more notable than Miye Oni (five games played for the Jazz this season).

Honorable Mentions
Miye Oni

83: Craig Smith

The forward out of Boston College wore this number during the 2011-12 season in which he played 47 games for Portland. That was his sixth and final NBA season before he headed overseas. No one else wore this number.

84: Chris Webber

Yes, that Chris Webber wore No. 84, during the 2006-07 season, after he signed a free-agent deal with the Pistons at midseason. Webber started 42 of the 43 games he played for Detroit, averaging 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game during the regular season. Webber was an important contributor during the playoffs, starting all 16 games of the Pistons’ postseason, which ended in the Eastern Conference finals, a 4-2 series defeat to LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavalierss.

Honorable Mention
Ron Baker

85: Baron Davis

The two-time All-Star wore this number during the final two stops of his NBA career, with the 2010-11 Cavaliers and the 2011-12 Knicks. No one else has worn No. 85.

86: Semih Erden

A 7-foot center who was born in 1986 in Turkey, Erden wore No. 86 with the Celtics during the 2010-11 season. He appeared in 37 games, seven of them starts, before he was traded on Feb. 24, 2011. He never wore No. 86 again in the NBA.

Honorable Mention
Chris Johnson

88: Nicolas Batum

Born in 1988, the French swingman wore No. 88 during his first seven NBA seasons, all with the Portland Trail Blazers, stuffing stat sheets by averaging 11.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Markieff Morris wears No. 88 now, and Antoine Walker wore it late in his career, but those stretches were so brief that we’re picking Batum here.

Honorable Mentions
Nemanja Bjelica, Markieff Morris, Antoine Walker

89: Clyde Lovelette

The 11-year veteran wore this number during his rookie season with the George Mikan-led Minneapolis Lakers (1953-54), then changed to No. 34. Those Lakers won it all that 53-54 season, with Lovelette averaging 8.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in 72 regular-season games. He had key contributions in all seven games of the Finals against Syracuse, and would later be part of two more title teams while wearing different numbers (1962-63 and 1963-64 with Boston).

Honorable Mention
Lou Amundson

90: Drew Gooden

A 6-foot-10 forward and center, Gooden wore either No. 0, No. 9 or No. 90 during his 14-year career, picking 90 during his stints with the Cavaliers, Bulls, Kings, Spurs, Mavericks and Wizards. Though a journeyman, Gooden had a solid career, averaging 11.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

Honorable Mention
Amir Johnson

Dennis Rodman grabs a rebound against the Miami Heat in 1996. (Nathaniel S. Butler / Getty Images)

91: Dennis Rodman

Rodman was always a beast on the boards, but his three seasons wearing No. 91 for the Bulls capped off his remarkable seven-season run as the league’s rebounding champ. He averaged 14.9, 16.1 and 15.0 rebounds per game as Chicago pulled off its second three-peat.

Honorable mention
Metta World Peace

92: DeShawn Stevenson

Stevenson wore either No. 2 or No. 9 before his trade in the middle of the 2009-10 season to the Mavericks. With No. 2 taken by Jason Kidd, Stevenson adopted No. 92. Stevenson turned out to be a valuable addition for Dallas. The next season, he started 54 regular-season games and 18 playoff games as the Mavs won the NBA title. Stevenson stuck with No. 92 in the final two stops of his career, with the New Jersey Nets and the Atlanta Hawks.

Honorable Mention
Lucas Nogueira

93: Ron Artest

In the wake of “Malice at the Palace” brawl in 2004, Artest was badly in need of a way to rehabilitate his reputation. He mostly found it in Sacramento, where he was traded in January 2006, changed from No. 91 to No. 93, and proceeded to play some of the best basketball of his career before he was traded to Houston in the summer of 2008 (and then changed to No. 96).

Honorable mention
P.J. Brown

94: Evan Fournier

A first-round draft pick by the Nuggets in 2012, Fournier chose No. 94 because 94 is the numerical designation of his home district in Paris. He may have preferred No. 10, but teammate Julyan Stone already had that jersey. When he was traded to Orlando in 2014, Fournier switched to No. 10 because it was the number of his favorite NBA player, Mike Bibby, and the number of another Frenchman of Algerian descent, soccer superstar Zinedine Zidane. Fournier also was born in October, the 10th month of the year. No one else has worn No. 94 in the NBA.

95: DeAndre’ Bembry

The 25-year-old Hawks wing is only four seasons in, and he’s already making history. By averaging 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in the early stages of his career, he beats out the only other candidate here.

Honorable Mention
Juan Toscano-Anderson

96: Metta World Peace

The player formerly known as Ron Artest wore seven jersey numbers during his lengthy NBA career. He chose No. 96 during his 2008-09 stint with the Houston Rockets. He played in 69 games that season and averaged 17.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Honorable Mention
Don Ray

98: Jason Collins

The 7-foot center wore No. 98 during the final three stops of his pro career, with the Celtics, Wizards and Nets. Collins, the first openly gay player in North America’s four major team sports leagues, chose No. 98 to honor Matthew Shepard. In 1998, Shepard, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student, was attacked; Shepard died several days later. “It was a tragedy,” Collins said in 2014, according to The Denver Post. “The year 1998 has a lot of significance to me and obviously a lot of other people.”

Honorable Mention
Hamed Haddadi

99: George Mikan

The 6-foot-10 center, aka “Mr. Basketball,” was professional basketball’s first true star and its first great big man. Playing for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League and the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBL, the Basketball Association of America and the NBA, Mikan was named by the Associated Press as the greatest basketball player of the first half of the 20th century. His Lakers teams won four NBA titles.

Honorable Mention
Jae Crowder

(Top graphic: Adrian Guzman / The Athletic)