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.
In this segment, we have the forwards that wore Number 2. Here is a look at the candidates that meet our qualifying criteria for each position ( 5 years with the Number in the NBA, ABA, and/or BAA) to aid you in deciding to vote in our poll.
NBA Forward Candidates (Jersey #2)
Joe Ingles was a Forward and Guard wearing jersey digit two on the Utah Jazz (2015-22) for eight years so far as he provided 5040 points, created 2176 assists, fought for 1888 rebounds, and blocked 90 shots as of February 1, 2023.
Stacey Augmon dribbled the hardcourts as a Forward and a Guard with this jersey identification number 2 on the Atlanta Hawks (1992-96), Detroit Pistons (1997), Portland Trail Blazers (1997-2001), Charlotte Hornets (2002), New Orleans Hornets (2003-04), and Orlando Magic (2005-06) for 11 seasons as he drained 7990 points, handed out 1561 assists, grabbed 3216 rebounds, and blocked 317 opponent’s shots.
Joe Johnson was a Guard and a Forward identified by jersey number 2 on the Phoenix Suns (2002-05), Atlanta Hawks (2006-12), and the Miami Heat (2016) for ten seasons as he scored 20405 points, dished out 5001 assists, crashed the boards for 5059 rebounds, and blocked 260 shots.
Junior Bridgeman lined up as a Forward and a Guard wearing the number 2 on the Milwaukee Bucks (1076, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 87), Los Angeles Clippers (1985-86) for 11 years as he provided 11517 points, created 2066 assists, fought for 2995 rebounds, and blocked 220 shots.
Thabo Sefolosha played the position of Guard and Forward wearing the number on the Chicago Bulls (2007-09) and Oklahoma City Thunder (2009-13) for seven seasons as he scored 4994 points, dished out 1196 assists, crashed the boards for 3252 rebounds, and blocked 366 shots.
Keith Askins played the positions of Guard and Forward, wearing the number 2 on the Miami Heat (1991-99) for nine seasons as he scored 1852 points, dished out 375 assists, crashed the boards for 1428 rebounds, and blocked 170 shots.
Mickaël Piétrus played the Guard and Forward positions with this jersey number 2 for the Golden State Warriors (2004-08) for five seasons as he registered 4629 points, passed for 445 assists, hauled down 1723 rebounds, and swatted away 230 shots.
Joe Barry Carroll played the position of Center and at the Forward position 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 on 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.
Anthony Miller lined up as a Forward wearing the number on the Los Angeles Lakers (95, 96), Atlanta Hawks (1997-98, and 2005), Houston Rockets (1999-2000) for five years as he provided 510 points, created 66 assists, fought for 488 rebounds, and blocked 26 shots.
Marvin Williams was a Forward identified by their jersey number 2 on the Utah Jazz (13, 14) and the Charlotte Hornets (2015-20) for seven seasons as he scored 10965 points, dished out 1373 assists, crashed the boards for 5546 rebounds, and blocked 577 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.
Maurice Taylor was a Forward donning the number on the Houston Rockets (2001 and 2003-05) and the New York Knicks (2005-06) for 5 Pro Basketball seasons as he scored 5889 points, helped out with 623 assists, found the ball for 2452 rebounds, and blocked 259 opposing teams’ shots.
Larry Johnson dribbled the hard courts as a Forward with this jersey identification number for the Charlotte Hornets (1992-96) and the New York Knicks (1997-2001) for nine seasons as he drained 11450 points, handed out 2298 assists, grabbed 5300 rebounds, and blocked 258 opponent’s shots.
Alex English played the Forward position wearing the digits on the Denver Nuggets (1980-90) and the Dallas Mavericks (1991) for 11 seasons as he registered 25613 points, passed for 4351 assists, hauled down 6538 rebounds, and he swatted away 833 shots.
Keith Askins played the positions of Guard and Forward, wearing the number 2 on the Miami Heat (1991-99) for nine seasons as he scored 1852 points, dished out 375 assists, crashed the boards for 1428 rebounds, and blocked 170 shots.
Kawhi Leonard played the position of Forward wearing the number 2 on the San Antonio Spurs (2012-18), Toronto Raptors (2019), and the Los Angeles Clippers (2020-21) for eight seasons as he scored 11085 points, dished out 1672 assists, crashed the boards for 3689 rebounds, and blocked 367 shots during his illustrious career.