Quite the tandem here. Gary PaytonHonorable Mention: Manu Ginobili. There are 14 NBA players who currently wear the number 21 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. 33 has a bunch of deserving candidates but an even easier choice for the top spot. But neither was that close to topping Malone here. Caron Butler, a.k.a. College: N/A. If you could only choose one player from NBA history as the best player for each jersey number, who would those selections be? He also finished either second, third or fourth in that vote six other times. How about that. last season and should see his role increase now that he has an offseason with the team under his belt. Kevin DurantHonorable Mention: Roger Brown. His three seasons in No. LeBron James has four MVPs to his name. Six Hall of Famers spent at least five seasons in No. Please check your email for a confirmation. All three of his MVP seasons came during that window, as did seven of his eight All-NBA honors. 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). Stats: 914 games played, 27.6 points per game, 6.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 2.2 steals, League: MLB They only made it to the second round, but that was also the only time they have won a playoff series in the past two decades. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. Over the years, its noticeable that some jersey numbers are more popular than Pascal Siakam earned his second All-NBA berth last season while leading the league in minutes per game. Dillon Brooks and Buddy Hield arent far behind, but Norman Powell beats them out here. And Westbrook has quite a few years left to potentially bypass Big O in all three categories. 7. 34: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, The Mavericks made their biggest addition when they made a swap with the Rockets for. We never did quite settle the chicken-or-egg debate as far as whether he made Karl Malone great or vice versa, but the end result is that Utah had one of the best point guards and one of the best power forwards of all time for 17 seasonsand still never won a title. 6 and 23 throughout his NBA career. He's the best (only) player to wear No. Do you have a sports website? Theres less confusion. Schayes has Dantley slightly beaten in that category with 142.4 win shares in what was also a 15-year career. McCollum, and Bradley Beal have helped popularize the number. 6 may continue doing so, but the number cannot be issued again. One more easy one before we embark on an absolute murderers' row (Nos. There are 3 NBA players who currently wear the number 28 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. See Top 100 All-Time Players. And in the latter half, he became more of a cagey veteran who was content to play a smaller role for less money, so long as he got to keep playing the game that he loves. NBA players who currently wear No. 36. Shaquille O'NealHonorable Mentions: Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Three is an iconic number, but I always felt it was cooler to make a more unique choice. As the NBA honors Bill Russell by retiring his jersey number, there have been more than 250 players in league history to wear No. NBA players 6 jersey to a player league-wide and a No. With respect to Bam Adebayo, who else could be here besides PG-13? And even if Leonard plays at a high level for another 12 years, he probably won't get there, either. Note: Neither 46 nor 48 had a qualified candidate, though Aron Baynes might get there if he sticks with 46 for another two seasons. Things start getting a bit more complicated and divisive when it comes to advanced metrics like VORP, effective field goal and usage rate, though. The NBA announced that it has retired the number in honor of the late Bill Russell starting in 2022-23, though players who already owned the number are grandfathered in. The obvious choice is Frazier, though. Juan Toscano-Anderson will wear his old number against his old team on opening night when the Lakers visit the Warriors. Best Athletes To Wear No. 3 | ThePostGame.com Kyle KorverHonorable Mention: James Robinson. But Kirilenko was an All-Star in 2003-04, the NBA leader in blocked shots (220) in 2005-06 and a three-time All-Defensive team member, making the first team in 2005-06. 24. The Stifle Tower is keeping his No. Russell WestbrookHonorable Mentions: Robert Parish, Damian Lillard, Gilbert Arenas. 35. Elgin BaylorHonorable Mention: Clyde Drexler. Thus, let's keep this short and sweet: MJ gets the edge because he won twice as many titles, 10 times as many scoring crowns and because LeBron spent four of his best years in Miami wearing No. Bob PettitHonorable Mentions: Tony Parker, Andre Iguodala, Richie Guerin, Rajon Rondo, Dan Majerle. Marcus Smart had a good shot at earning this spot after winning NBA Defensive Player of the Year last season, but he was the only NBA player to wear No. Curry shot better than 41 percent from three-point range in each of his first 10 seasons in the NBA and has a career success rate of 43.5 percent. 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. Not surprisingly given his pure stroke, he's also one of the best free-throw shooters of all time at 90.6 percent. Purvis Short is the third best player to wear the number 45, although he didn't play his entire career wearing the number. There are 11 NBA players who currently wear the number 23 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. Stats: 1,054 games played, 22.0 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.5 steals, League: NFL Brand has the most win shares, but he was merely a two-time All-Star. 00. The other 12 each played in at least 1,000 games. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. Nikola Jokic earned back-to-back league MVP awards for a reason. Muresan's 7'7" frame made him a sight to behold, but that body barely held up for 300 NBA games. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Miller was admittedly a bit of a one-trick pony. Only one Hall of Famer wore No. A player can only be selected for one number, but it doesn't necessarily have to be the number he wore the most, provided he wore it for at least five years. 45. We present them here for purely educational purposes. The best players to wear 3 as their jersey number includes a hit list of legendary athletes. But Baylor averaged 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds in his career while earning 10 All-NBA honors. But if you're going to be the best at one thing, shooting is a good thing to master. 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. Jordan McLaughlin (Minnesota Timberwolves) Carmelo AnthonyHonorable Mentions: Tiny Archibald, Pete Maravich, Lamar Odom, Brandon Roy, Jermaine O'Neal, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Johnson, A bunch of pretty good players were No. Excluding his final 30-game season at the age of 38, Gasol averaged between 14.6-20.7 points and 8.2-12.5 rebounds in every year. He probably deserved more than that, because he was excellent for the first half of his career, but it is what it is. There are 14 NBA players who currently wear the number 4 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. Spencer Dinwiddie was a strong scoring contributor for the Dallas Mavericks last season and should see his role increase now that he has an offseason with the team under his belt. 43. and rightfully earned his second straight All-Star selection last season. 45: Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers, No. He was named to 10 All-NBA teams (first team four times) and was a no-brainer selection for the Hall of Fame once he was eligible. 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. 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 5 throughout his time in Charlotte, but he was No. 4. Because there are more deserving candidates at No. John Collins holds this spot for now, though Gordon Hayward and Markelle Fultz have the talent to usurp him when healthy. 0 we start with No. 61 if he gets regular season action with the Golden State Warriors. WebMarcus Smart had a good shot at earning this spot after winning NBA Defensive Player of the Year last season, but he was the only NBA player to wear No. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. There are 4 NBA players who currently wear the number 45 in the NBA for the 2022-23 NBA Season. Even Anthony only wore No. 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.