While some jerseys for NBA teams will no longer be used due to someone quite good playing in that number seeing it hoisted up to the rafters, there are other jersey numbers that have seen quite a lot of changing bodies through the years. Here are the most used jersey numbers for each NBA franchise:
Atlanta Hawks – #12
An incredible 46 players have played in the Hawks #12 jersey, most recently worn by Taurean Waller-Prince. Kirk Hinrich used it on his second stint with the team, and in the past Josh Powell, Speedy Claxton, Dan Dickau and John Battle used to wear it too.
Boston Celtics – #12
There have been 33 players to wear the #12 Boston Celtics jersey through the years, last worn by Terry Rozier. Dominique Wilkins isn’t known for his time in Boston, but he’s probably the most famous wearer, beating Bruce Bowen, Ricky Davis and Leandro Barbosa among others. Don Chaney, who put on jersey from 1969 through 1980, wore it the longest.
Brooklyn Nets – #22
With 29 players wearing it over the years, #22 is the most used jersey number for the Nets. Caris LeVert began his NBA career last season with it, following Markel Brown and Anthony Morrow. Jim McIlvane and Chris Dudley had it in the past for a couple of years, Rod Higgins had it for one season, and the long-named Jan Van Breda Kolff as well. Bernard King is its most famous occupant, wearing it for two seasons.
Charlotte Hornets – #12
The Hornets (including the Hornets before the New Orleans move and the current Hornets, which are actually the Bobcats) had 12 players under #12. The most recent one? Treveon Graham. In the past, Gary Neal, Tyrus Thomas, Vlade Divac and Kenny Anderson had the privilege of putting it on.
Chicago Bulls – #6
Cristiano Felicio is the current #6 for the Chicago Bulls, following in the footsteps of Keith Bogans, Shannon Brown, Travis Best and Brad Sellers. The most interesting player to wear the jersey is Matt Steigenga, who pretty much stumbled his way to an NBA title.
Cleveland Cavaliers – #24
Cleveland has seen 17 different players were #24 through the years, with Richard Jefferson carrying the mantle at the moment. Donyell Marshall, Andre Miller, Chris Mills are among the more well-known names to play with the number. The longest serving #24 in Cavs history was John Lambert, who played for the team for six seasons starting in 1975.
Dallas Mavericks – #21
The Mavs have had 16 different 21’s over the years, Jeremy Evans being the last one in 2015-2016. Wayne Ellington had it for one season, and so did Steve Novak. Fat Lever held onto it the longest (1990-1994), a few years before massive bust Shawn Respert got to wear it.
Denver Nuggets – #30
The Nuggets have 23 different players in the franchise’s history to wear the #30 jersey. Quincy Miller (2012-2014) was the last one. Reggie Evans had it for a couple of seasons, Marcus Liberty had it for four and George McGinnis wore it for a couple of years entering the 1980’s. No one left too much of a mark in it.
Detroit Pistons – #10
With 25 players to wear the numbers over the years, the Pistons #10 jersey has seen the most traffic. Greg Monroe is the most recent player to put it on, but the most famous of the Pistons players to wear the jersey is Dennis Rodman, playing in Detroit for his first 7 seasons in the league. Rod Thorn, Don Adams and Kevin Porter are also part of the Pistons #10 club.
Golden State Warriors – #4
The Warriors have had 27 players with the #4 jersey over the years. Among them: Brandon Rush (the most recent), Derek Fisher, Chris Webber, Steve Alford and John Lucas.
Houston Rockets – #10
Number 10 has been worn by 20 different players in Rockets history. Before the current holder, Eric Gordon, it was a new year, new player kind of thing: Marcus Thornton, Tarik Black, Ronnie Brewer and Carlos Delfino, coming after three years of Chase Budinger. Sam Cassell had it during the Rockets championships, and before him Purvis Short and Mike Dunleavy (the old one) wore it.
Indiana Pacers – #44
Currently used by Jeff Teague, it has previously been seen on players such as Solomon Hill, Solomon Jones and Kenny Williams. Austin Croshere, who seemed to peak for a brief moment in the 2000 NBA finals, had it during his 9-season run with the team. Overall, 16 players have played in #44 for the Pacers.
Los Angeles Clippers – #1, #21, #22 & #34
There have been 17 players in each of the four jersey numbers. Lance Stephenson was the last with #1, and before came the likes of Chauncey Billups, Baron Davis and Keyon Dooling. No one has worn #21 since Ronny Turiaf in 2012-2013, a jersey worn by Dominique Wilkins for a short time, while Sidney Wicks had it in the past, and Bobby Simmons held on to it for quite some time. Matt Barnes was #22 during different stints with the Clippers, and Tom Chambers had it during the early 1980’s. Paul Pierce was #34 for the last two seasons, and Michael Olowokandi famously did very little with it during his bust years out of college.
Los Angeles Lakers – #20
Timofey Mozgov wore the #20 jersey last year, the 24th player to do so. Jodie Meeks had it for a couple of seasons, Gary Payton wore it in 2003-2004, and Brian Shaw before him during the three-peat. Going back to ancient history, we find names like Milton Wagner, Don Nelson and Whitey Skoog.
Memphis Grizzlies – #1 & #3
The #3 was worn by 13 players in Grizzlies history, including Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Allen Iverson and most recently, Jordan Adams. The same number of players had the #1 jersey, starting with Cherokee Parks, followed by Wesley Person, Kyle Lowry, DeMarre Carroll and most recently Jarell Martin.
Miami Heat – #21
The Heat have had 13 players with the #21 jersey, Hassan Whiteside the most recent of them. Before him came Roger Mason, Ronny Turiaf, Jamaal Magloire, Smush Parker, Ricky Davis and Voshon Lenard. Kevin Edwards had it for 5 seasons when the franchise just came into the league.
Milwaukee Bucks – #5 & #12
There have been 24 different players in each of the #5 and #12 jerseys. Jabari Parker is the current #12, and before him it was rare to find someone who put it on for more than one season. Luc Mbah a Moute stands out with four seasons. As for the #5, Michael Carter-Williams had it, and so did J.J. Redick, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette and Steve Blake. Tim Thomas had it from 1999 to 2004.
Minnesota Timberwolves – #4
There have been 13 number 4’s in Minnesota history, starting with Tod Murphy in 1989, followed by Gerald Glass, Michael Williams (longest tenure, 1993-1998), Spud Webb and Chauncey Billups. More recently it’s been Greg Smith and Brandon Rush, who was the team’s number 4 last season.
New Orleans Pelicans – #5
The Pelicans jersey history begins the year the Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans. The #5 jersey has been worn by 11 players, including two last season: Lance Stephenson and Reggie Williams. Jeff Withey had it for a short while, as did Marcus Thornton and Mike James.
New York Knicks – #5 & #7
The Knicks have had 26 players in each of the #5 and #7 jerseys. Courtney Lee put on #5 for the Knicks last season, and before him came Tim Hardaway Jr., Jason Kidd, Jalen Rose and Dick Van Arsdale. Carmelo Anthony has been #7 for the Knicks since the trade from Denver. Dean Meminger had it for the 1973 title season. Al Harrington, Channing Frye, Doug Christie and J.R. Reid are other notable names from recent years.
Oklahoma City Thunder – #22
Including the franchise’s time in Seattle, 17 players have worn #22 for the OKC Thunder and Supersonics. Taj Gibson had it shortly this year after coming in from Chicago, following in the footsteps of Cameron Payne, Jeff Green, Jim McIlvane and Ricky Pierce.
Orlando Magic – #11
There have been 12 number 11’s for the Magic over the years, Bismack Biyombo being the current one. Glen Big Baby Davis had it for his short while in Florida, and Courtney Lee was a member of the club when the Magic made the NBA finals in 2009. Sam Vincent, from 1989 to 1992, was the first player with the jersey.
Philadelphia 76ers – #12 & #14
The Sixers had 29 players in each of the mentioned jersey numbers over their long existence. Gerald Henderson put #12 on last season, and Evan Turner had it during his tenure with the team before moving Northeast to Boston. Kevin Ollie had it for a few seasons, Johnny Dawkins wore it while Charles Barkley was still in Philly and the current Henderson’s father, also named Gerald Henderson, wore it briefly. Sergio Rodriguez put #14 on last season, following in the footsteps of K.J. McDaniels, Jason Smith, Nazr Mohammed, Jeff Hornacek, , Charles Shackelford and Matt Guokas.
Phoenix Suns – #4 & #10
With 19 players in each jersey, the Suns shuffled the most through #4 and #10. Tyson Chandler is the most recent #4, with Marcin Gortat preceding him by a few years. Other include a rookie Michael Finley and even Steve Kerr. Derrick Jones was their #10 last season, while Leandro Barbosa in two tenures had the most time with it in franchise history.
Portland Trail Blazers – #11
There have been 16 players with the #11 jersey for the Blazers over the years. Meyers Leonard has been the one with that number on his back for the last five seasons, and before him came Jamal Crawford, Luke Babbitt and Sergio Rodriguez. Arvydas Sabonis played with that number from 1995 to 2003, with one retirement season ruining that streak.
Sacramento Kings – #10, #15 & #20
The Kings played 25 players in each of these numbers over the years. DeMarcus Cousins was #15 until he got traded to the Pelicans, following in the footsteps of John Salmons, Vinny Del Negro, Scott Wedman and Wayne Embry. Ty Lawson wore #10 last season, and Nik Stauskas had it before the Kings got rid of him. Mike Bibby put it on for a few successful years, while Adrian Smith wore it for almost the entire 1960’s. Jordan Farmer was the Kings #20 last season, and before him Donte Greene, Jon Barry and Ernie Grunfeld put the jersey on.
San Antonio Spurs – #23
The Spurs have had 21 different 23’s over the years, most recently used by Kevin Martin during his short time with the team. Before him came Austin Daye, Alonzo Gee and Steve Novak. When going even further back in history, we run into names such as Devin Brown, Tyrone Corbin and Mike Bratz.
Toronto Raptors – #3
There have been 13 number 3 in Raptors history, although none at the moment, with James Johnson being the last one to don the jersey. Kyle Lowry actually wore in 2013 before changing, while Juan Dixon, Tracy Murray and Zan Tabak, the first Raptors player in #3, are also on the list.
Utah Jazz – #22
While 17 players have worn the #22 jersey for the Jazz, none of them have left much of an impact. The most recent wearer was J.J. O’Brien. John Crotty wore it for one season, and Bernard King, in a forgotten, miserable season wore it back in 1979-1980.
Washington Wizards – #12, #15 & #22
No single jersey number stands out in the history of the team from D.C., with 21 different players wearing each of the digits mentioned above. Otto Porter is the current #22, worn before by legends such as Jim McIlvane. Marcus Thornton was the last to put on #15, previously used by Mark Price and Frank Johnson, who wore it from 1982 to 1988. The #12 is currently used by Kelly Oubre. Chris Whitney, a backup point guard for 8 seasons, wore it more than anyone else.