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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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Scott Pollard
Scott Pollard, Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images /

Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number: 62, Scott Pollard

After playing collegiate basketball at the University of Kansas for four years, where he averaged 9.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game, Scottie Pollard was selected with the 19th pick of the 1997 NBA Draft, selected by the Detroit Pistons.

Pollard was part of a three-team trade that sent him to the Indiana Pacers during the 2003 offseason, and it was with Indiana that Pollard elected to wear the number 62, becoming just the second player in league history to do so. The highlight of Pollard’s tenure came in a 32 point blowout victory against the Portland Trail Blazers in 2006 when he scored 6 points and pulled down 16 boards. He played three seasons with the Pacers before signing a one-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent.

Pollard played for five different franchises during his 11-years in the league and appeared in the NBA Playoffs every season of his career except his rookie season. He was a member of the Sacramento Kings team that came within one game of an NBA Finals appearance in addition to playing on the Cleveland Cavaliers team that got swept in the 2007 NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurs, and he won a championship the following season (also his final season) while playing with the Boston Celtics.

Honorable Mention: Bob Dillie

Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number: 61, Dave Piontek

Dave Piontek was part of a star-studded 1956 NBA Draft that included Hall of Famers Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn, K.C. Jones, Elgin Baylor, and Sam Jones. Back in those days, the NBA consisted of only eight teams, and the draft was at least 10 rounds long. Piontek was selected with the first pick in the third round by the Rochester Royals.

The 6’6″ forward played for three different teams and wore six different jersey numbers during his seven-year NBA career. It wasn’t until his final season when he rejoined the franchise that originally drafted him, that Piontek decided to wear the number 61 on his uniform.

Piontek played in 413 games in seven NBA seasons, averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds a game. He scored 2,955 points and collected 1,770 rebounds.

In 1960 he made the NBA Finals playing alongside Hall of Famers Bob Pettit, Clyde Lovelette, and Cliff Hagan as a member of the St. Louis Hawks, losing in seven games to the Boston Celtics.

Piontek was the last player to wear the number 61 and the only other player to don the number other than Bevo Nordmann, who wore it for the same franchise, the season before Piontek did.

Honorable Mention: Bevo Nordman