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 for the best five position players at each pro basketball number continues. In this search, we are trying to find the best two guards that wore Number 3 in the history of NBA, ABA, and BAA. Here is a list of backcourt men that wore the number 3 for at least five seasons:
NBA Guards Candidates (Jersey #3)
Eddie Johnson was a Forward and Guard identified by jersey number 3 on the Atlanta Hawks (1978-86) and Cleveland Cavaliers (1986) for nine seasons as he scored 19202 points, dished out 2550 assists, and crashed the boards for 4832 in his career rebounds, blocked 180 opposing shots and averaged16 points every game for his career.
Jared Dudley played the Forwardnd and Guard positions wearing the digit three on the Phoenix Suns (2009-13, and 2017-18) for seven seasons as he registered 6633 points, passed for 1394 assists, hauled down 2849 rebounds, batted away 167 shots as he averaged points per game for his career.
Dwyane Wade played Guard wearing the number 3 on the Miami Heat (2004-16, and 2018-19) and the Chicago Bulls (2017) for 15 seasons as he scored 23165 points, dished out 5701 assists, crashed the boards for 4933 rebounds, blocked 885 shots and averaged22 points per contest played for his career.
Allen Iverson played the position of Guard wearing the number 3 on the Philadelphia 76ers (1997-07, and 2010), Denver Nuggets (2007-09), and the Memphis Grizzlies (2010) for 14 seasons as he scored 24368 points, dished out 5624 assists, crashed the boards for 3394 rebounds, smacked down 164 opponent’s shots and averaged 26.7 points a game for his career.
Chris Paul lined up at Guard wearing the number on the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (2006-07), New Orleans Hornets (2008-11), Los Angeles Clippers (2012-17), Houston Rockets (2018-19), Oklahoma City Thunder (2020), and the Phoenix Suns (2021-22) for 12 years as he provided career 21334 points, created 11226 assists, fought for 5331 rebounds, blocked 180 shots, and averaged18 points per game for his career.
Bradley Beal played the G position with this jersey number for the Washington Wizards (2013-22) for ten seasons as he registered 13892 points, passed for 2588 assists, hauled down 2574 rebounds, swatted away 244 shots, averaged 22.1 points each for his career.
George Hill was a Guard donning the number on the San Antonio Spurs (2009-11), Indiana Pacers (2012-16), Utah Jazz (2017), Cleveland Cavaliers (2018-19), Sacramento Kings (2018), Milwaukee Bucks (2019, 20, 22), and the Oklahoma City Thunder (2021) for 10 Pro Basketball seasons as he scored 9158 career points, helped out with 2637 assists, found the ball for 2575 rebounds, blocked 224 opposing teams’ shots, averaged224 points/game for his career.
Rex Chapman dribbled the hardcourts as a G with this jersey identification number for the Charlotte Hornets (1989-92), Washington Bullets (1992-95), and Phoenix Suns (1997-2000) for ten seasons as he drained 9731 points, handed out 1798 assists, grabbed 1645 rebounds, and blocked 129 opponent’s shots averaged129 points per game for his career.
Stephon Marbury was a G identified by the jersey number on the Minnesota Timberwolves (1997-99), Phoenix Suns (2002-04), and New York Knicks (2004-08) for nine seasons as he scored 16297 points, dished out 6471 assists, crashed the boards for 2516 r in career rebounds, blocked 121 opposing shots and averaged19.3 points every game for his career.
CJ McCollum played the G position wearing the digits on the Portland Trail Blazers (2014-22) for nine seasons as he registered 10465 points, passed for 1836 assists, hauled down 1871 rebounds, batted away 218 shots as he averaged19.4 points per game for his career.
Damon Stoudamire played the position of Guard wearing the number on the Portland Trail Blazers (1998-05) and San Antonio Spurs (2008) for eight seasons as he scored 11763 points, dished out 5371 assists, crashed the boards for 3039 rebounds, blocked 81 shots and averaged13.4 points per contest played for his career.
John Starks played the position of Guard wearing the number on the New York Knicks (1991-98) for eight seasons as he scored 10829 points, dished out 3085 assists, crashed the boards for 2129 rebounds, smacked down 106 opponent’s shots and averaged 12.5 points a game for his career.
Dennis Johnson lined up at Guard wearing the number on the Boston Celtics (1984-90) for seven years as he provided career 15535 points, created 5499 assists, fought for 4249 rebounds, blocked 675 shots, and averaged14.1 points per game for his career.