Looking at sports history and reminiscing about legendary players from different eras is a fun pastime for most sports fans. These great players kindle fond memories. The attraction of the great ones to the fans may come in various avenues; their statistics, what they did in big moments, individual awards, or how they led their team to a title.
We connect to these players on so many levels, but a common thread is to remember them by jersey number. Babe Ruth’s number 3, Wayne Gretzky’s 99, Jordan’s 23, or a Walter Payton 34 jersey are all iconic and fun to remember.
SHN Project: Best Team By Jersey Number
Our Sports History Network team would like to solicit your help in putting a fun twist on your sports memories by kicking off an endeavor to field the best pro basketball teams by jersey number. That team should consist of a Point Guard (PG), Shooting Guard (SG), Center (C ), Small Forward (PF), and Strong Forward (SF).
If a player is listed as playing that position in their career, they become eligible to play it on our team. Additional criteria are that they had to play in the BAA, NBL, NBA, or ABA and wear the jersey number for at least a part of 5 different seasons. Our team of SHN experts will provide some information, personal preferences, and other tidbits about the players of each to help you make an informed decision in the poll we will provide. After the deadline is reached, we will post the results on JerseyDispatch.com.
Our search to complete our team of all-time great jersey number 2 pro basketball players continues as we search for the big man in the center. Here are the candidates that meet our criteria of wearing the number for at least five seasons in the pro ranks.
NBA Center Candidates (Jersey #2)
Joe Barry Carroll played the position of Center and Forward, wearing the number on the Golden State Warriors (1981-88), Houston Rockets (1988), and Phoenix Suns (1991) for seven seasons as he scored 12455 points, dished out 1264 assists, crashed the boards for 5404 rebounds, and blocked 1121 shots.
Moses Malone was a Center and Forward wearing the jersey digits of the Philadelphia 76ers (1983-86, and again in 1994), Atlanta Hawks (1989-91), and the San Antonio Spurs (1995) for seven years as he provided 29580 points, created 1936 assists, fought for 17834 rebounds, and blocked 1889 shots.
Mark Bryant played the Forward and Center positions with this jersey number for the Portland Trail Blazers (1989-95), Houston Rockets (1996), Phoenix Suns (1997-98), Chicago Bulls (1999), Cleveland Cavaliers (2000), Dallas Mavericks (2001), and San Antonio Spurs (2002) for eight seasons as he registered 4313 points, passed for 491 assists, hauled down 2992 rebounds, and swatted away 195 shots.