Hoops Habit
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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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Nazr Mohammed
Nazr Mohammed (Photo credit should read GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP via Getty Images) /

Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number: 48,  Nazr Mohammed

Nazr Mohammed is one of only two players in league history to wear the number 48. He aged for eight different teams and wore six different jersey numbers across 18 seasons in the NBA. It wasn’t until his twilight years with the Chicago Bulls that Mohammed would don the number 48.

He joined the Bulls at age 35 and played three seasons in Chicago. Despite his physical style of play and work ethic fitting seamlessly with the culture that then-head coach Tom Thibodeau had established before his arrival, Mohammed played a minimal role off the bench with the Bulls. He never averaged more than 11 minutes per game in any single season during his three-year tenure.

A solid defender and rebounder with a good mid-range jump shot, the former first-round draft pick, Mohammed was a backup center for virtually his entire career. He played on 12 playoff teams and won an NBA championship in 2005, playing for the San Antonio Spurs.

Honorable Mention: Walt Gilmore

Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number: 47, Andrei Kirilenko

Andrei Kirilenko may have arguably the coolest nickname of any athlete ever. Early in his NBA career, he was dubbed AK-47, a combination of his initials, jersey number, and a reference to the most notorious gun ever made in his homeland Russia.

Drafted by the Utah Jazz as an 18-year old in the 1999 NBA Draft, Kirilenko was the first Russian ever selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, and at that time, he was also the youngest foreign player to be drafted by an NBA franchise. However, Kirilenko decided to remain in Moscow, and the Jazz would delay his NBA debut for two years. He wasn’t a great or efficient scorer, but he possessed a solid pull-up mid-range game. He attacked the basket well and did a good job drawing fouls. What he lacked in the scoring department, he more than made up for in other areas, especially on the defensive end of the court.

Kirilenko was a tremendous rebounder and defender for most of his career. Despite standing at just 6’9″ and playing mostly the small forward position, Kirilenko’s athleticism and 7’4″ wingspan in combination with his high I.Q. made him a premier shot blocker and of the most versatile defenders in the entire league.

Despite only playing exactly half of the season due to a broken wrist in 2005, he accumulated enough blocked shots during the season to qualify as the league leader in blocks per game, winning his first and only blocks title and was simultaneously named to the  NBA All-Defensive Second-team. The following season he led the league in total blocks (220) despite being limited to 69 games.

He spent his first 10 seasons in the league with the Utah Jazz. At the time of this writing, he ranks in the top-10 in franchise history in points score, offensive, defensive, and total rebounds, made field goals, assists, player efficiency rating and ranks in the top-five in games played, free throws made, blocks per game, total blocks, steals, and triple-doubles.

In a game against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2006, Kirilenko became the first player in recorded history five-by-six games in regulation with a stat line of 14 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 steals, and 7 blocks.

He made his lone All-Star game appearance in 2004, was named to three consecutive NBA All-Defensive teams from 2004-2006. He retired from the NBA after 12 seasons with averages of 11.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game.

Honorable Mention: Jerry Lucas