The Story Behind Your Favorite NBA Player's Jersey Number

Image via Complex Original

Jersey number: 23

Anthony Davis is a Chicago, Ill. native who wears No. 23. We can just chalk it up to being a Michael Jordan fan and keep it moving, right? Not so fast. While at Perspective Charter High School in Chi-Town, Davis won a Black History Month trivia contest and received a $10 gift card, which he used to buy a book on his favorite player, LeBron James. Since then, the New Orleans Pelicans forward has remained a huge fan of LeBron and in honor of The King, he has always donned the No. 23, even during his brief stint at Kentucky.

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Jersey number: 17

Every now and then, you will see Jeremy Lin tweet out Bible verses. It's a glimpse into the deep-rooted Christian faith he has held his entire life. In that same vein, Lin looked to his faith to choose a number. The number seven is used throughout the Bible, and J-Lin sees wearing the number as a way of keeping God close him wherever he goes. As for his decision to wear No. 17, which he has worn since the D-League, Lin says, “The No. 1 was kind of to represent me and the No. 7 was to represent God.”

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Jersey number: 20

At 37 years old, Manu Ginobili is considered an old guy in the NBA. However, this will surely make that sentiment really sink in. The 24-year-old Gordon Hayward wears No. 20 as a tribute to Ginobili. The Baby-Faced Assassin says he looked up Manu growing up and would try to implement some of his skills into his own game. If there was ever a bittersweet moment for an NBA player, this would be it.

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Jersey number: 20

Manu Ginobili never really wanted to wear the No. 20. When he signed with the San Antonio Spurs on July 18, 2002, Manu originally received the No. 6. “The only two numbers I have ever worn in my career were No. 6 and No. 10. [The Spurs] originally gave me No. 6, but that was only one season after [former Spurs point guard] Avery Johnson had left the Spurs, and there was an outcry from the fans who supported Avery in San Antonio,” says Ginobili. What about No. 10? There was an issue with that choice as well since they gave Speedy Claxton that number a couple weeks earlier. What was Manu to do? Ginobili recalls, “I guess I thought that the No. 20 just looked good, so that’s what I took!”

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Jersey number: 13

Originally, Paul George wore No. 24 as a tribute to Kobe Bryant who changed to his current number in 2006. After receiving some suggestions from Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel, George will alter his number to 13 as a way of assuming the nickname “PG-13.” It's got a nice ring to it, so it is worth the sacrifice.

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Jersey number: 9

After getting selected by the Boston Celtics in the 2006 NBA Draft, Rondo opted to change from No. 4—his number at Kentucky—to No. 9, but it wasn't all his choice. Single-digit numbers were at a minimum with the jerseys of Walter Brown (No. 1), Red Auerbach (No. 2), Dennis Johnson (No. 3) and Bill Russell (No. 6) retired, Leon Powe (No. 0), Gerald Green (No. 5) and Al Jefferson (No. 7) on the roster at the time, and Ryan Gomes unwilling to part with his No. 4. So, all Rondo had to choose from was No. 8 or 9. Now with the Dallas Mavericks, Rondo may be able to pry his original number away from Greg Smith. That is, if he stays with the team, of course.

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Jersey number: 3

For Dwyane Wade, there's just something about the No. 3. Originally, the number reflected his Christian faith and the “Holy Trinity.” However, over time, the No. 3 has a even more profound meaning as it is part of the year (2003) he led Marquette to the Final Four, the year (2003) he was drafted, how many seasons it took for him to win both the NBA title and NBA Finals MVP, how many kids he currently has and how many NBA championships he has won. We could probably keep going with this, but we'll stop there.

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Jersey number: 2

When Kevin Garnett joined the Brooklyn Nets, he switched to the No. 2 after wearing No. 21 with the Minnesota Timberwolves and No. 5 with the Boston Celtics. Garnett chose it to honor his former T'Wolves teammate and close friend Malik Sealy, who died in a car crash on May 20, 2000. After leaving a party celebrating Garnett's 24th birthday, Sealy's SUV was struck by a pickup truck traveling on the wrong side of the road. During his two-year run in Minnesota, Sealy wore No. 2.

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Jersey number: 35

On April 30, 2005, in Laurel, Md., Charles Craig was killed from multiple gunshot wounds when Kevin Durant was a junior at Oak Hill Academy. For Durant, Craig was everything. “Big Chucky,” as he referred to him, was the first basketball coach he had when an eight-year-old Durant came to the Seat Pleasant Recreational Center. Eventually, their friendship grew off the court. Craig would take K.D. to the movies, supply him with money when he needed it and provide a roof over his head when Durant's mother Wanda Pratt was tied down by work. When Craig tragically died, he was 35. Durant wears the No. 35 as a constant reminder of Craig's impact on his life.

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Jersey number: 0

In a 2007 New York Times article, Russell Westbrook discussed his decision to wear the No. 0 while at UCLA. “You go with the zero when you’ve been through something and you are looking to get a new beginning. It helps you get going again. It helps you get the swag back,” Westbrook said. Luckily for all of us, Russ has managed to stay swagged out ever since.

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Jersey number: 7

When Carmelo Anthony was traded to the New York Knicks in 2011, he was forced to change his number since the No. 15 was retired in honor of Earl Monroe and Dick McGuire. Even though he tried to get approval from Monroe and McGuire's family, Anthony continued to hit too many roadblocks. Instead of continuing his efforts, Carmelo decided to change to No. 7 since that number is a subtraction of his high school number (22) and his number with Syracuse and the Denver Nuggets (15). Plus, his son was born on the 7th of March in 2007. 

Sidebar: We would've just said the latter one if we were 'Melo. That mathematical response is too Lost-esque. 

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Jersey number: 0

When it comes to Damian Lillard, “0” is more than just a number, it also serves as a letter. For Lillard, the letter “O,” er, No. 0 represents his past, present and possibly future since he is from Oakland, went to school in Ogden and plays for the Portland Trail Blazers in Oregon.

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Jersey number: 1

It's commonly assumed that Derrick Rose wears No. 1 because he was the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. That's not the case. Instead, the No. 1 represents Rose's alter ego which he assumed during his time at AAU. “When I was playing for my club team back in Chicago, my number was No. 1, but when I played for my high school, my number was 25,” Rose said. When the Bulls point guard wore No. 25, he felt as though his game was more passive. When he came into the league, he wanted to be more like his alter ego and he chose No. 1 for that reason.

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Jersey number: 3

It's really not all that complicated why Chris Paul wears the No. 3. His father and brother also have the initials C.P. Since the Los Angeles Clippers point guard is the third person with those initials, he is CP3. Voila!

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Jersey number: 9

In honor of his godfather, Tony Parker wears the No. 9. In 1999, on New Year's Eve, Parker's godfather Jean-Pierre Staelens died. In addition to being a basketball coach, Staelens was an accomplished player who once scored 71 points in a 1967 game. Staelens' influence also extends itself to Parker's choice in nationality. Since Parker idolized him so much, he not only did took his number, he also applied for French citizenship at the age of 15, even though he could've chosen among four nationalities.

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Jersey number: 41

It's hard to imagine Dirk Nowitzki without the No. 41, but if he had his way back in the day, he would actually be No. 14. Throughout his young playing career in Germany, Nowitzki wore No. 14. So, when he joined the Dallas Mavericks in 1998, Dirk wanted to keep it going but there was one problem: Robert Pack already had the number and he wasn't going to give his number “to no rookie,” according to Nowitzki. He tried to get Pack to shoot for it, but nothing worked. Eventually, Nowitzki decided to flip the numbers to No. 41 and it has obviously stuck.

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Jersey number: 0

For someone like Kevin Love, who wore No. 42 since his days at UCLA, it was kind of weird to see him decide on No. 0 after joining the Cleveland Cavaliers over the summer of 2014. With No. 42 out of the question since it was retired in honor of Nate Thurmond, Love considered No. 7, as well as asking Zydrunas Ilgauskas for the right to wear No. 11, but both of those options fell through. Still, like we have already established, there's a story behind the No. 0.

“I remembered showing up to a game in Beaverton, Oregon with a brand new team…I was the last guy to the gym for the tournament and there was the zero for me. That’s the story behind it,” Kevin explains. “I just decided zero was the right fit for me and it really brings me back to Portland, which is Oregon. The “O” as [David Griffin] told me later…when I told him which number I was going to choose; he said, ‘You can’t forget Ohio, too,’ and he's right.”

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Jersey number: 12

With Dwight Howard, the choice to wear No. 12 isn't all that complicated. He grew up admiring Kevin Garnett, who wore No. 21 during his years with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Howard opted to reserve the digits instead of taking the number altogether. Surprisingly, DH stuck with the number after a not so friendly encounter with his idol during the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals.

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Jersey number: 32

During his time at Oklahoma, Blake Griffin rocked the No. 23. However, when he selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the first overall pick in 2009 NBA Draft, Blake didn't even bother asking Marcus Camby to relinquish the number. He switched it up and donned the No. 32. 

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Jersey number: 16

In Spain, when you're a rookie, you are given either 16 or 17. No ifs, ands or buts about it. In his rookie year with F.C. Barcelona, Pau Gasol was expectedly given the No. 16. After his first year with the team, Pau was given the opportunity to switch, but he decided to hold onto the number since he had a lot of success with it. And he has been able to keep it ever since. After all, just look at Pau flourishing in that Bulls jersey! 

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