NBAJerseys
The unknown story behind NBA jersey number : the…
Anthony Davis (#23)
Since entering the league as a first-round draft pick in 2012, Davis has become one of the most popular players among fans and he has become a superstar.
Considering he wears the number 23 jersey and is a Chicago native, many would assume he is paying homage to Michael Jordan, but in reality, Davis chose the number 23 because his favorite player is LeBron James.
Paul George (No. 13)
George grew up as a Lakers fan, and his idol was Kobe Bryant. So after entering the league, George decided to wear number 24 and pay tribute to Kobe.
But after suffering a serious injury in the summer of 2014, George switched to No. 13 because he thought the nickname “PG-13” would be fun to wear and decided to give it a try.
Rajan Rondo (No.9)
During his time with the Celtics, Rondo was arguably the top point guard in the league and became the best helper for the Green Army’s Big Three.
Before entering the NBA, Rondo had been wearing jersey number 4, but because the Celtics had retired too many jersey numbers, so when Rondo wished to have a single-digit number, the only options left for him were number 8 and number 9, so Rondo finally decided to choose number 9.
Kevin Garnett (#21)
Garnett has changed numbers a few times in his long career, from No. 21 with the Timberwolves early in his career to No. 5 with the Celtics.
When the Celtics traded Garnett to the Bucks in the summer of 2013, he decided to wear No. 2 in order to pay tribute to his late former teammate Malik Sealy. Sealy wore No. 2 with the Timberwolves, but after attending one of Garnett’s birthday parties, he was killed in a car accident on his way home.
Dirk Nowitzki (#41)
Dirk is one of the most successful international players in NBA history and sixth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. In fact, when Dirk first entered the league, not many people thought highly of him. That’s why his former teammate Robert Parker was reluctant to give up #14 to Dirk (Dirk still wears #14 when he plays in Germany). As a result, Dirk accepted that fact and then decided to turn #14 backwards into #41 and has been using it ever since.
Steve Nash (#10)
Nash is one of the greatest point guards in the history of the NBA. But when the Lakers acquired Nash in the summer of 2012, they couldn’t offer him the number 13 jersey because the number 13 Lakers jersey that belonged to Chamberlain had already been retired.
Since Nash is a huge soccer fan, he decided to pay tribute to some of the greatest soccer players of all time, such as: Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi, thus deciding to wear the number 10 jersey until he retired.
Gilbert Arias (#0)
Arias was once one of the most individualistic players in the league. When he first came into the league, Arias was met with a lot of skepticism, such as people saying that his playing time in the NBA would be 0, including his college coach, and as a result, Arias chose to wear number 0 just to gamble. You have to admit, it was a smart move on his part.
Kevin Durant (#35)
Kevin Durant chose No. 35 to honor one of his AAU coaches and one of the most important mentors in his life, even playing the role of father – Coach Charles Craig, who was tragically murdered at the age of 35.
