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.
The backcourt men that wore the number 5 for a minimum of five seasons are stocked. This one may be tricky to pick two players from as there is so much legendary talent. Here are the candidates, and don’t forget to vote!
Again we have some help from some big hitters. Boni Jose and Felix Alvarado of the hit podcast Full Court Press with Boni and Felix. These heavy hitters will give us the scoop on some very legendary players to help with the voting. Also, aspiring sportscaster Vinny Lospinusu chimes in with great props on a legend.
NBA Forwards Candidates (Jersey #5)
Juwan Howard lined up as a Forward wearing the number 5. Felix and Boni have some insight into this star. “Howard played for 19 seasons (1994-95 to 2012-13) on 8 teams (Washington Bullets/Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, Charlotte Bobcats, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat) and averaged 13.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 1208 regular season games. He’s 1x All-Star and a 2x NBA Champion (2012 & 2013) with the Miami Heat.”
Billy Paultz played the Center and Forward positions with this jersey number 5 for the New York Nets (71, 72, 73, 74, 75), San Antonio Spurs (76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 83), Houston Rockets (80, 81, 82, 83), Atlanta Hawks (84), and the Utah Jazz (85) for 12 seasons as he registered 13099 points, passed for 2206 assists, hauled down 8959 rebounds, swatted away 1457 shots averaged 11.7 points each for his career.
Dick Van Arsdale was a Guard and Forward donning the number on the New York Knicks (1966-68) and the Phoenix Suns (1969-77) for 11 Pro Basketball seasons as he scored 15079 career points, helped out with 3057 assists, found the ball for 3807 rebounds, and blocked 44 opposing teams’ shots in his career.
Jalen Rose lined up as a Guard and Forward, wearing the number 5. Felix and Boni give us the word on him, “Jalen Rose played for 13 seasons (1994-95 to 2006-07) on six teams (Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns) and averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in 923 regular season games. The Michigan native also won the Most Improved Player award during the 1999-2000 season.”
Josh Smith played the position of Forward, donning the number 5 uniform. The Full Court Press Podcast guys chime in that, “Josh Smith, a.k.a. J-Smoove, played for 13 seasons (2004-05 to 2017-18) on five teams (Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans) and averaged 14.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 894 regular season games. The left-handed forward was also the 2005 NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion.”
Robert Horry was a Forward identified by jersey number 5. Felix and Boni have the scoop on him too, “Robert Horry, a.k.a. Big Shot Bob, played for 16 seasons (1992-93 to 2007-08) on 4 teams (Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs) and averaged 7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists in 1107 regular season games. Big Shot Bob was the winner, finishing his career with 7 NBA championships (2 with the Houston Rockets, 3 with the Lakers, and 2 with the San Antonio Spurs).”
Carlos Boozer played the Forward and Center positions wearing the digit five on the Utah Jazz (2005-10), Chicago Bulls (2011-14), and Los Angeles Lakers (15) for nine seasons as he registered 13976 points, passed for 1928 assists, hauled down 8192 rebounds, batted away 346 shots as he averaging 16.2 points per game for his career.
Tom Van Arsdale played the Forward/Guard position with this jersey number for the Detroit Pistons (1966-68), Cincinnati Royals (1969-72), Kansas City-Omaha Kings (1973), Philadelphia 76ers (1973, 74, 75), and Atlanta Hawks (1975-76) for a total of 9 seasons as he registered 14232 points, passed for 2085 assists, hauled down 3942 rebounds, swatted away 16 shots averaged15.3 points each for his career.
Paul Seymour was a Guard and Forward identified by the jersey number on the Syracuse Nationals (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60) for nine seasons as he scored 5836 points, dished out 2341 assists, crashed the boards for 1694 r in career rebounds, and averaged 9.4 points every game for his career.
Doug West played the position of Guard/Forward wearing the number on the Minnesota Timberwolves (1990-98) for nine seasons as he scored 6477 points, dished out 1292 assists, crashed the boards for 1670 rebounds, smacked down 189 opponent’s shots, and averaged9.6 points a game for his career.
Josh Howard was a Forward and Guard donning the number on the Dallas Mavericks (2004-10), Washington Wizards (2010, 11), and Minnesota Timberwolves (2013) for 8 Pro Basketball seasons as he scored 7270 career points, helped out with 817 assists, found the ball for 2886 rebounds, and blocked 276 opposing teams’ shots for his career.
Tim Thomas dribbled the hardcourts as a Forward with this jersey identification number 5 for the Milwaukee Bucks (1999-04) and the New York Knicks (2004-05) for seven seasons as he drained 9454 points, handed out 1272 assists, grabbed 3379 rebounds, and blocked 300 opponent’s shots and averaged 30 points per game for his career.
Andrés Nocioni played the position of Forward wearing the number 5 on the Chicago Bulls (2005-09), Sacramento Kings (2009-10), and Philadelphia 76ers (11, 12) for seven seasons as he scored 5415 points, dished out 614 assists, crashed the boards for 2295 rebounds, smacked down 228 opponent’s shots, and averaged 10.5 points a game for his career.
Kevin Garnett played the position of Forward and Center wearing the number on the Boston Celtics (2008-13) for six seasons as he scored 26071 points, dished out 5445 assists, crashed the boards for 14662 rebounds, blocked 2037 shots, and averaged 17.8 points per contest played for his career. Our friend, sports historian Vincent Lospinuso adds this about KG, “Kevin Garnett was an all-time great when it came to power forwards and was exceptional coming out of high school. The Finals MVP and the GOAT of all Timberwolves. You can make a real case for him on Minnesota sports, Mr. Rushmore.”
J.R. Smith played the Guard and Forward position wearing the digits on the Denver Nuggets (2010-11) and Cleveland Cavaliers (2015-19) for six seasons as he registered 12148 points, passed for 2077 assists, hauled down 3073 rebounds, batted away 204 shots as he averaged12.4 points per game for his career.
Jim McMillian played the position of Forward wearing the number 5 on the Los Angeles Lakers (1971-73), Buffalo Braves (1974-76), New York Knicks (1977-78), and Portland Trail Blazers (1979) for six seasons as he scored 8736 points, dished out 1557 assists, crashed the boards for 3319 rebounds, smacked down 80 opponent’s shots and averaged 13.8 points a game for his career.
Rodney Hood was a Guard/Forward identified by jersey number 5 on the Utah Jazz (2015-18), Portland Trail Blazers (2019-21), and Milwaukee Bucks (2022) for six seasons as he scored 4586 points, dished out 720 assists, crashed the boards for 1141 in career rebounds, blocked 75 opposing shots and averaged 10.4 points every game for his career.
Donald Royal was a Forward donning the number on the San Antonio Spurs (92), Orlando Magic (1993-97), Charlotte Hornets (1997-98), and Golden State Warriors (1997) for 6 Pro Basketball seasons as he scored 3161 career points, helped out with 500 assists, found the ball for 1431 rebounds, and blocked 99 opposing teams’ shots during his career.
Kevon Looney played the Forward and Center positions with this jersey number 5 for the Golden State Warriors (2017-22) for six seasons as he registered 1431 points, passed for 380 assists, hauled down 1369 rebounds, and swatted away 181 opponent’s shots in his career.
Danny Manning was a Power Forward and Center donning the number 5 on the Los Angeles Clippers (1990-94), Atlanta Hawks (1994), and Detroit Pistons (2003) for 5 Pro Basketball seasons as he scored 12367 career points, helped out with 2063 assists, found the ball for 4615 rebounds, and blocked 752 opposing teams’ shots for his career.
Nicolas Batum was a Forward/Guard donning the number on the Charlotte Hornets (16, 17, 18, 19, 20) for 5 Pro Basketball seasons as he scored 9795 career points, helped out with 3137 assists, found the ball for 4531 rebounds, and blocked 549 opposing teams’ shots during his career.
Special Thanks to Basketball-Reference.com