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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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New Orleans Hornets logo (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number: 60, Walt Kirk

After starring at the University of Illinois, where he was named to three First-team All-Big Ten teams, Walton Kirk went undrafted in 1947 but still managed to carve out a decent five-year career in the NBL/BAA/NBA. Kirk signed a contract with the Fort Wayne Pistons following his senior year of college, and after just 14 games, he was shipped off to the Indianapolis Jets.

While playing with the Jets, Kirk experienced the best statistical production of his career. In 35 games with the club, he averaged career-highs in points (10.8) and assists (3.0), and although he shot a deplorable 34.2 percent from the field, he connected on 71.7 percent of his free throw attempts on 5.7 attempts per game.

He had a reputation as a solid rebounder. Still, it’s nearly impossible to quantify how good he was on the glass since the league didn’t start tracking rebounds until the 1950-51 season. He retired one year later with only 44 rebounds recorded across the final 11 games of his professional career.

Honorable Mention: Jonathan Gibson

Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number: 57, Hilton Armstrong

Hilton Armstrong was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets (now known as the Pelicans). New Orleans considered him a lottery pick because of his shot-blocking prowess and athletic potential, but they soon added Tyson Chandler to the fold and which impeded Armstrong’s development.

He would go on to have a rather pedestrian NBA career, never being able to live up to the hype and expectations that come with being a top-15 pick. Over the course of his six seasons in the NBA, Armstrong was traded three times, waived three times, played two seasons overseas, and had two stints in the D-League with the Santa Cruz Warriors.

In his final season in the NBA, Armstrong appeared in 15 games for the Golden State Warriors and became the first and only player in league history to wear the number 57. In the last game of the regular season, he made his lone start for the Warriors, posting a double-double in a four-point victory over the Denver Nuggets. Coincidentally, that was also the final regular-season game Mark Jackson would spend as the Warriors head coach.