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 centers that wore Number 1. 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 Center Candidates (Jersey #1)
Samuel Dalembert: played the position of Center wearing the number 1 on the Philadelphia 76ers (2002-10) and the Dallas Mavericks (2014) for a total of eight seasons as he scored 6814 points, dished out 465 assists, crashed the boards for 6942 rebounds, and blocked 1546 shots during his NBA time.
Amar’e Stoudemire: was a Forward and Center with this jersey number for the Phoenix Suns (2007-10), New York Knicks (2011-15), and Dallas Mavericks (2015) for eight seasons as he registered 15994 points, passed for 1050 assists, hauled down 6632 rebounds, and swatted away 1054 shots. Dan Neumann, co-host of the Sports History Network podcast Hello Old Sports, adds this about Amare Stoudemire: “Hampered by back knee problems later in his career, Stoudemire nonetheless made 6 All-Star teams. His best years were probably with the exciting “7 Seconds or Less” Suns of the 00’S.”
Chris Bosh: played the position of Forward and Center, donning the number on the Miami Heat (2011-16) for six Pro Basketball seasons as he scored 17189 points, helped out with 1795 assists, found the ball for 7592 rebounds, and blocked 932 opposing teams’ shots.
Troy Murphy: filled a Forward and Center position with this jersey identification number 1 on the Golden State Warriors (2002- 07) for six seasons as he drained 7860 points, handed out 1088 assists, grabbed 5708 rebounds, and blocked 294 opponent’s shots.
Make sure to vote on your favorite players at the positions of jersey Number 1. For more on the other positions, see the Jersey 1 Guards Candidates and Jersey 1 Forward Candidates. We will post the results of the All-Time Pro basketball Jersey 1 squad the week of February 5, 2023 on JerseyDispatch.com.