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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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David Robinson
David Robinson, Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images /

Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number: 50, David Robinson

David “The Admiral” Robinson was selected with the number one overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1987 NBA Draft. He would spend the following two years serving in the United States Navy. As a result, he didn’t make his NBA debut in 1989.

The Spurs struggled to play .500 basketball for the majority of the 1980s, but their fortunes changed upon Robinson’s arrival. The Admiral averaged 24.3 points, 12 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.7 steals, and 3.9 blocks per game during his rookie season and led the franchise to its first 50-plus win season in seven years and the highest regular-season win total in franchise history at the time with 56 wins.

The Spurs made the playoffs in 13 of his 14 seasons. In the one season they missed out on the postseason, Robinson was limited to just six games due to a broken foot. The injury that forced Robinson to miss the entire season essentially also put the Spurs in a position to draft Tim Duncan with the number one pick in 1997. Just two years later, Robinson would capture his first of two NBA championships.

Robinson once scored 71 points in the final game of the regular season to secure the 1994 scoring title. That same season he became the fourth person in league history to record a quadruple-double with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks against the Detroit Pistons. He finished that season averaging a career-high 29.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists (also a career-high), 1.7 steals, and 3.3 blocks per game.

Robinson was a member of the 1992 Dream Team and won two Olympic gold medals. He was the 1995 NBA MVP, won two NBA Championships, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, 10-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA, eight-time All-Defensive, a rebounding champion, a block champion.

Although Tim Duncan broke most of his records, he still holds the Spurs franchise record for most triple-doubles (14) and most free throws (6,035). He is one of four people to ever score at least 70 points in a single game and the only seven-footer other than Wilt Chamberlain to achieve the feat.

Honorable Mention: Ralph Sampson

Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number: 49, Shandon Anderson

Shandon Anderson was selected with the 54th pick in the infamous 1999 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. He wore the number 49 from 2002-2006 as a member of the New York Knicks and Miami Heat, but his best statistical season was in 1999–2000 when he averaged career-highs in points (12.3), assists (2.9), steals (1.2), and rebounds (4.7) per game while playing with the Houston Rockets.

Though his best days were behind him by the time he elected to wear the number 49 on his jersey; Anderson won an NBA championship in his final season in the league as a member of the 2006 Miami Heat team that came back from down 2-0 against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals to win in six games.

The only other player to wear the number 49 was Mel McCants during the 1989-90 season as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Honorable Mention: Mel McCants