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Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number 00-99

By Larry Hammonds

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant(L) and Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan(R) talk during a free-throw attempt during the fourth quarter 17 December at the United Center in Chicago. Bryant, who is 19 and bypassed college basketball to play in the NBA, scored a team-high 33 points off the bench, and Jordan scored a team-high 36 points. The Bulls defeated the Lakers 104-83. AFP PHOTO VINCENT LAFORET (Photo by VINCENT LAFORET / AFP) (Photo credit should read VINCENT LAFORET/AFP/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant(L) and Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan(R) talk during a free-throw attempt during the fourth quarter 17 December at the United Center in Chicago. Bryant, who is 19 and bypassed college basketball to play in the NBA, scored a team-high 33 points off the bench, and Jordan scored a team-high 36 points. The Bulls defeated the Lakers 104-83. AFP PHOTO VINCENT LAFORET (Photo by VINCENT LAFORET / AFP) (Photo credit should read VINCENT LAFORET/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Shawn Bradley
Shawn Bradley (Photo credit should read TONY RANZE/AFP via Getty Images) /

Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number: 76, Shawn Bradley

Shawn Bradley played one season of college basketball at BYU before spending the next two years doing missionary work and then entering his name into the 1993 NBA Draft pool. Selected second overall by the Philadelphia 76ers, Bradley is one of just five people listed at 7’6″ or taller to play in the NBA.

Bradley was an inconsistent scorer and rebounder, especially for his size (averaged 6.3 rebounds for his career), but he was one of the league’s premier shot blockers during his playing days.

After suffering a season-ending knee injury his rookie year, he came back and played all 82 games the following season, averaged 3.3 blocks per game, and broke the 76ers’ franchise record for most blocks in a season with 274, a record that still stands today. That’s quite impressive when you consider the likes of Dikembe Mutombo, Manute Bol, Theo Ratliff, and Joel Embiid have all suited up for the 76ers.

That same season he had arguably the best performance of his career when he scored 28 points on 60 percent shooting, pulled down 22 rebounds, and fell just one block shy of a triple-double against the LA Clippers.

Despite flashing potential, he would only play 12 games with the 76ers the following season before being traded to the New Jersey Nets and changing his jersey number from 76 to number 45. Up until today, Shawn Bradley is still the only player in history to wear the number 76.
Bradley has the highest career block percentage in NBA history (7.83), and he’s ninth all-time in blocks per game (2.55).

Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number: 73, Dennis Rodman

At the end of the Chicago Bulls dynasty of the 1990s, Dennis Rodman was released from his contract with the Bulls just before the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. He eventually signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and played 23 games in Los Angeles before being waived.

Joining the Lakers at age 37, he was in the twilight years of his career, but his aptitude for rebounding never waned, averaging 11.2 rebounds in 28.9 minutes per game. Despite his age and loss of athleticism, Rodman still managed to have 14 games with double-digit rebounds, including seven games with at least 15 rebounds.

Rodman’s tenure with the Lakers didn’t end well. He fell out of favor with the head coach due to his frequent requests to be taken out of games, his tardiness to practice, and being aloof on defense, which led to the Lakers releasing him after just 23 games with the squad. Those 23 games were the only time NBA fans have ever seen a player don the number 73.