“In honor of your greatness, Michael, and for all you have done for the game of basketball, not only the NBA but for all the fans around the world, we want to honor you tonight by hanging your jersey forever, No. But the Heat retiring his number despite Jordan having no ties to the organization other than defeating them many times, is kind of cringeworthy. 23 retired by the Chicago Bulls and even across the league in the same way Wayne Gretzky’s No. Make no mistake, based on his dominance and overall importance to the game of basketball, he is worthy of having his No. You were expecting the Washington Wizards? With all due respect to “His Airness,” Michael Jordan probably shouldn’t be on this list. During his final season with Philadelphia in 1987, the then-New Jersey Nets retired the No. He was dealt to the Sixers, winning a championship during his 11 years with the team. J” won three straight MVP awards and two championships with the New York Nets. Before the NBA merged with the ABA in 1976, “Dr. Julius Erving had his number retired by two different teams … in two different leagues. He was dealt to Houston during the 1994-95 season and helped the Rockets capture a second consecutive NBA championship. On the day Bryant died at the age of 41 years old in a helicopter accident in 2020, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban released a statement saying, “Kobe’s legacy transcends basketball, and our organization has decided that the number 24 will never again be worn by a Dallas Maverick.” Clyde Drexler - Blazers, RocketsĬlyde “The Glide” Drexler spent 12-plus seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, leading the team to two appearances in the NBA Finals. Both of those numbers have been retired by the Los Angeles Lakers in honor of Bryant, who won five championships with the team and became one of the greatest scorers in the history of the sport. The two chapters of Kobe Bryant’s 20-year Hall of Fame career are divided by two numbers: 8 and 24. 34 retired by the Sixers, where he spent the first eight seasons of his Hall of Fame career, and the Phoenix Suns, whom he led to the NBA FInals in his first of four seasons with the team. Kids today might not realize that before Charles Barkley was a lovable television analyst, he was a very good basketball player. He played 14 seasons with the Lakers, with whom he scored 24,176 of his 38,387 career points. Abdul-Jabbar spent his first six seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 30.4 points per game. No surprise that the NBA’s former leading scorer had his No. 44 retired by the Atlanta Hawks, where he spent the first four seasons of his career. The Jazz, of course, moved from New Orleans to Utah in 1979, keeping the ill-fitting team nickname, and also retired Maravich’s number. 7 he wore as a member of the New Orleans Jazz. The Pelicans, in 2002 after the then-Hornets relocated to New Orleans, honored Louisiana legend “Pistol Pete” by retiring the No. Pete Maravich also had his number retired by three teams, but he never played for one of them. 42 that was already retired for Jackie Robinson).

6 in addition to Bill Russell’’s number already being retired league-wide, kind of like how the New York Yankees did with Mariano Rivera’s No. 6 with the Lakers, he could become the first player in NBA history to have four retired numbers by teams he played for (assuming the Lakers retire his No. He’ll likely remain so until LeBron James inevitably has his numbers retired by the Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. The Warriors did so in 1999 after Chamberlain died, making him the first and only player to receive the honor from three teams. He then spent four seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and five with the Lakers, winning championships with each organization.Ĭhamberlain’s No. He scored more than 20,000 career points with the team, including his 100-point performance. The four-time MVP and seven-time scoring champion spent six seasons playing for the Warriors, beginning when the team was based in Philadelphia. Only one player in NBA history has had his number retired by three teams that he played for: Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt Chamberlain - Warriors, 76ers, Lakers Russell, an 11-time NBA champion and a civil rights pioneer, became the first player to have his number retired league-wide. 6 would be permanently retired throughout the league. Ja Morant suspended 25 games by NBA Bill Russell - Celtics, all NBA teamsīoston Celtics legend Bill Russell received the ultimate number-retirement honor when the NBA announced after his passing in July of 2022 that his No.

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