In Boston's well-decorated history, he's a top-five Celtic along with Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Paul Pierce. Wade (120.7) is well behind Paul, and Iverson (99.0) is even further back. He also had a PER of 28.9 in those eight years. 1 seed last year. 28. Ruth, A-Rod and Wade all made our short list of best athletes who wore No. 3. Now we didn't include some athletes who might have worn No. 3 for a small part of their career. For example, Ken Griffey Jr. wore No. 3 for a few seasons in Cincinnati, but he is most identified as being No. 24 or No. 30. He ended up with more than 25,000 points and more than 15,000 rebounds, which puts him in a five-person club. While the NFLs Matt Ryan wears No. With the conference semifinals set, let's take a look at the best player in each of the 8 first-round series. 29 for more than three seasons. Like Gobert, Donovan Mitchell is keeping his old number from the Jazz in his new destination. 37. There are 15 NBA players who currently wear the number 13 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. Reggie MillerHonorable Mention: Zelmo Beaty. Big O was a 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA and league MVP in 1963-64. When we inevitably do a fictitious tournament of teams broken up by jersey number, No. Before looking through the full list of candidates, this impressionable-child-in-the-early-'90s author figured Clyde the Glide was the obvious pick for No. Years active: 2003-2019 Paul is at 179.5 and is No. And now we're back to no-brainer decisions for a little while. But it's still hard to process those numbers. WebIn this video, we dive into the world of NBA players who wear the iconic number 32 jersey. He is currently 20th on the all-time leaderboard with 26,314 points, and he's only 632 points away from leapfrogging up to No. If you dig through NBA history, you will find that some numbers have never been worn, such as numbers 58, 59, 64, 69, 74, 75, 78, 79, 80, 82, 87, and 97. However, note that number 69 almost had a taker in Dennis Rodman when he got traded to the Dallas Mavericks in the 90s. Thus, no Michael Jordan at 45, the number he wore for 17 games after returning from his first retirement during the 199495 season, before switching back to his There are 7 NBA players who currently wear the number 18 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. An eight-time All-Star in the disco era, Cowens averaged 17.6 points and 13.6 rebounds in his career. But Brodie averaged a triple-double in three consecutive seasons after Kevin Durant jumped ship for the Warriors, either leading the league in scoring or assists in each of those years. NBA players who currently wear No. This was, by far, the toughest decision of all. 6. Series preview: What to expect in Warriors-Lakers. Web355 Players Table; Player Team(s) Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf: Denver Nuggets (91, 92, 93, 94) Sacramento Kings (97, 98) Shareef Abdur-Rahim: Vancouver Grizzlies (97, 98, 99, 00, 01) Atlanta Hawks (02, 03, 04) Sacramento Kings (06, 07, 08) John Abramovic: Donning No. LeBron James has four MVPs to his name. 88 for seven seasons in Portland. David Duke Jr. (Brooklyn Nets | Free agent ) 5-9 range on any reputable ranking of Breaking down the Golden State-Los Angeles matchup with 3 things to watch, 1 X-factor and a series prediction. The Stifle Tower is keeping his No. The only other players with at least 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. No. Stats: 112 games played, 25,624 passing yards, 196 passing touchdowns, League: NBA See Top 100 Current Players. 6 jersey to a player league-wide and a No. For No. 5-9 range on any reputable ranking of the NBA's greatest of all time. O'Neal spent more time wearing No. JohnKonchar is the only NBA player who wears 46 in the NBA for the 2021-23 NBA Season. Things start getting a bit more complicated and divisive when it comes to advanced metrics like VORP, effective field goal and usage rate, though. Brand has the most win shares, but he was merely a two-time All-Star. Prior to those, he was at 26.9 points per game and was an All-Star in every season. Ginobili was underrated for most of his career, but can we all agree we kind of overcorrected that error toward the end of his run? There are 3 NBA players who currently wear the number 34 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. The NBA had to come up with a way to mitigate the impact of this 6'10" center who would knock shots away at the rim and who was unguardable down low when allowed to camp out close to the basket. Jayson Tatum jumps past Damian Lillard as the top No. NBA players, executives, personalities and luminaries share their thoughts on the death of the Celtics and NBA icon. The obvious choice is Frazier, though. Anthony has averaged 23.6 points per game for his career and didn't have a single year below 20.8 points per game until his 15th season in the league. 24, he averaged 26.3 points per game, was an All-Star all 10 years, won two more titles, another scoring crown and an MVP. All three of his MVP seasons came during that window, as did seven of his eight All-NBA honors. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. we've got to give the nod to Isiah Thomas here. He also finished either second, third or fourth in that vote six other times. Todays installment focuses on the three players who wore No. PG / SG | OKC. 24: Norman Powell, Los Angeles Clippers, No. , where there are 53 players on a team and numbers are correlated to position groups, the NBA has fewer players and fewer jersey numbers across the league. In fact, he led the NBA in PER for five consecutive years (1997-2002), and he trailed only Tracy McGrady in what would have been his sixth straight year atop that leaderboard. mesurer votre utilisation de nos sites et applications. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/H7lzVH6lu3, HonestLarry (@HonestLarry1) July 31, 2020, Happy birthday in heaven Charlie Dutch Hoefer and Bob Kinney. This one had significantly more candidates than anticipated. 11, not to mention respectable current players like Klay Thompson, Mike Conley Jr., Jamal Crawford and Brook Lopez. 22 in Chicago and Oklahoma City, Taj Gibson switched to No. Magic JohnsonHonorable Mentions: Karl Malone, Bill Walton, Kevin McHale, Shaquille O'Neal (only considered for 34). But Russell was a five-time MVP and an 11-time NBA champion. Or write about sports? 10. 18. Two very important criteria notes before we dive in: Beyond those two things, everything is fair game. Those would be 58, 59, 64, 69, 74, 75, 78, 79, 80, 82, 87 and 97. 35, but that distinction will only hold up until five years after Durant calls it a career. Before we get to No. But knee and back problems left Sampson a shell of his former self by his mid-to-late 20s, while Robinson was an impact player well into his mid-30s. Three is an iconic number, but I always felt it was cooler to make a more unique choice. He shot 39.5 percent from three-point range and 88.8 percent from the free-throw line in his career. Kobe BryantHonorable Mentions: Walt Bellamy, Marques Johnson, Deron Williams. He just couldn't stay healthy enough to get there. Please check your email for a confirmation. He averaged better than 20 points per game for 10 consecutive years. The best players to wear 3 as their jersey number includes a hit list of legendary athletes. As previously discussed, we could've gone with either No. No. Korver and Robinson are the only two players to wear No. 49, and just barely at that. There are 6 NBA players who currently wear the number 27 in the NBA for the 2021-23 NBA Season. Sign up for the Celtics Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. He averaged 18.2 and 7.1, respectively, in his career. 1. Paul SilasHonorable Mention: Pervis Ellison. Based solely on playing career, though, Cowens is the only option. They are not allowed to choose three digits and the forbidden number 69. 34 for Shaq, as well as No. Even more impressive, he led the New York Knicks to their only two NBA titles in franchise history. He probably deserved more than that, because he was excellent for the first half of his career, but it is what it is. Kids rarely have the opportunity to wear certain numbers, but it looks like some NBA players dont think the same way I do. Orlando Robinson is the only NBA player who wears 59 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. He averaged better than a double-double (16.8 points and 10.8 rebounds) during his nine years in Seattle before becoming a lower impact stretch-5 late in his career in Milwaukee. He was the league MVP two years later with marks of 20.5 points and 16.2 rebounds per game. There are 2 NBA players who wears 54 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. Prior to a pair of lackluster years to close out his career, he averaged 18.8 points and 17.6 rebounds in his first nine seasons. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. NBA superstars like Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, and Chris Paul dominated the NBA while sporting the 3 on their backs. There are 12 NBA players who currently wear the number 15 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. He averaged 27.0 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while teamed up with Kobe Bryant. There are 3 NBA players who currently wear the number 28 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. No. 15. WebCategory:Players who wear/wore number 3 | Basketball Wiki | Fandom Sign In Register in: Browse, Jersey numbers Players who wear/wore number 3 Category page View source It's because of Mikan that goaltending is illegal and the foul lane is as wide as it is. 8). 6. We all remember playing rec league as a kid and waiting for the coach to hand out jerseys. No sense in writing about Ron Artest/Metta World Peace for Nos. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Willis ReedHonorable Mention: Vern Mikkelsen. 37, 38 and 39 had no qualified candidate. Isaiah Stewart will need to show even more improvement in 2022-23 to hold off Alperen Sengun as basketballs best No. I have no clue how many players have spent time with a franchise bearing their name, but King was solid with the Kansas City Kings in the early 1980s. And not to put an asterisk on Big O's achievements, but he did it during the NBA's infancy when guys weren't as athletic and when playing 45 minutes per game was no big deal. His three seasons in No. Pau GasolHonorable Mentions: Bob Lanier, Cliff Hagan, Jerry Lucas, Al Attles, Tom Sanders. Two of his three MVP seasons came in No. Jimmy Butler sits above fellow All-Star wings Andrew Wiggins and Khris Middleton as the NBAs top No. The only other players in NBA history to put up at least 20.5 and 20.5 in any season were Wilt Chamberlain (10 times) and Jerry Lucas (once). But he had such a great mid-range jumper, such a tenacity on the glass, such a motor on defense and such a willingness to share the spotlight that he never had to expand his game. Brandon Ingram has stepped into his own with the New Orleans Pelicans, paving the way for a brief playoff run with Williamson sidelined for all of last season. Keon Johnson (Portland Trail Blazers). 3 the past two seasons for Chicago, has already said he is giving it up. As with No. In the latter two categories in combined ABA/NBA history, he ranks in the top five all-time. He and Wilt Chamberlain are the only players to average better than 25 and 15, respectively. There are 17 NBA players who currently wear the number 25 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. It took a couple of decades, but Sikma is unofficially the pioneer responsible for basketball being what it is today, where even centers are expected to have three-point range. During his seven-year peak, Tomjanovich averaged 20.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and was selected to five All-Star Games. There are 2 NBA players who currently wear the number 26 in the NBA for the 2022-23NBA Season. Come on, be serious. Tim DuncanHonorable Mentions: Kevin Garnett, Dominique Wilkins. 45. Tony Parker was a great point guard and all, but not enough people talk about this pioneer of early basketball. Height: 6'11". Lang had one season in which he averaged double figures. 8 or No. At 15,806 assists, he is the career leader by a country mile. 99. Iverson, Paul and Wade were each All-Stars 11-13 times and All-NBA seven to eight times. Since LeBron is wearing No. He was the scoring champ in both 2002-03 (32.1 PPG) and 2003-04 (28.0 PPG). Billups was a good player for longer than McGrady was, but Mr. Big Shot's peak doesn't even hold a candle to T-Mac's. 6, LeBron James will also be one of the last. John StocktonHonorable Mentions: Dwight Howard, LaMarcus Aldridge. WebNBA players can choose whatever number they like but from 00-99 only. But while Cousy was an outstanding facilitator for a team that won a ton, Robertson's individual stats are too ridiculous to ignore. Though his career was effectively over by the age of 25, he had a couple of solid years with the Washington Bullets, earning the Most Improved Player title in 1995-96. There are 7 NBA players who currently wear the number 35 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. 90. LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the LA Lakers. 1 in that category, narrowly edging out both Steve Nash and Mark Price. Jonas Valanciunas was a rock for the Pelicans last season, averaging a double-double per game. 12x NBA All-Star. AI was on the low end in both categories, but he was also a four-time scoring champ, a three-time steals champ and the league MVP in 2000-01. Only 12 times in NBA history has a player recorded at least 20.8 win shares in a season. Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma are in the mix, but Gary Trent Jr. gets the nod for his overall impact on a winning team in Toronto. Along with Silas and Ellison, those are the only players to have worn No. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/wvOn5V2H20, HonestLarry (@HonestLarry1) September 16, 2021, Happy birthday in heaven John Hazen. Hill, Pippen and Mourning were each seven-time All-Stars who were inducted into the Hall of Fame, and they were the simple ones to trim from the list. Babe Ruthand Ken Griffey Jr. are among the Hall of Fame MLB players who wore numer 3 during theiriconic careers. And while it's way too soon to legitimately consider the Greek Freak as a challenger in a group with five players on at least 10 All-Star rosters in their careers, Antetokounmpo could crash the party and steal the top spot from O'Neal with another six to seven years on par with what he has done for the past four seasons. Most Valuable Player: Nikola Joki (26.4/10.8/8.3), Rookie of the Year: LaMelo Ball (15.7/5.9/6.1), Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Monday, May 1, 7:34PM. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He was never named first-team All-NBAhe did earn four second-team or third-team honorsand he never received a single vote for MVP, but Gasol made up for his lack of a peak by delivering solid B-plus work for 17 years. As a tribute to the late, great Bill Russell number 6 has been retired across the league. There are 15 NBA players who currently wear the number 2 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. But with the exception of the other NBA Mount Rushmore guys, how can anyone expect to contend with Abdul-Jabbar? Everyone had a number that meant the world to them in the realm of the NBA. He's a two-time All-Star who was clearly the third-best player (at best) on his team behind Duncan and Tony Parker. 88 for at least five seasons, but his five-year, $120 million contract is one of the worst of all time. Not only did Drexler lose the fight, but it wasn't even close. No. 13. He's currently No. This list is bonkers. Sam Jones and Bobby Jones were each great in their own way. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Frankly, though, it was tempting to throw out the rule book and let Bryant count for both numbers. The Mavericks made their biggest addition when they made a swap with the Rockets for Christian Wood, who averaged a double-double in 2021-22. Note: Nos. 24. His career deteriorated in a hurry, though, because of a combination of injuries and those new rules that made it harder for him to dominate. Stephen CurryHonorable Mentions: George McGinnis, Bernard King. Al Horford saw a resurgent season in his return to the, and finally reached his first Finals after, No. Silas was a solid contributor, though, especially on defense, earning five All-Defensive team honors. We present them here for purely educational purposes. He was also a two-time All-Star and a three-time NBA champion. Two of Wallace's four All-Star seasons came while wearing No. In addition to being named Rookie of the Year in 1964-65, Reed averaged 20.1 points and 13.8 rebounds in his first seven seasons in the NBA. Those career numbers include some mid-to-late-30s seasons when Baylor wasn't quite as effective, too. So check out the list of athletes who wore 3and help decide who deserves to rank the highest for wearing this iconic jersey number. This site is a participant in the Impact Affiliate Platform which is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Fanatics.com . There are 14 NBA players who currently wear the number 10 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. English and Richmond were great. Jason Kidd (12,091) is the only player within 5,000, and even if Kidd had four more years at his apexhis career high was 808 assists in a seasonhe still would've finished almost 500 shy of Stockton. Years active: 1914-1935 DRAFT: 1974; Round 3 (ABA) NBA Champion (1983) NBA Finals MVP (1983) 3x NBA Most Valuable Player.