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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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Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson (Photo by Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images) /

Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number: 14, Oscar Robertson

Oscar Robertson is one of the most iconic and greatest players of all time. The 6’5″ point guard could score from anywhere on the court, rebounded very well for a guard, and was also an elite playmaker. He won the 1961 Rookie of the Year award pretty handily with averages of 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 9.7 assists per game.

He averaged a double-double seven times during his 14-year career, and in just his second season in the league, he became the first player to average a triple-double for an entire season, with Russell Westbrook being the only other player to achieve the feat. He came within .5 of averaging a triple-double in three other seasons as well. He led the league in assists six times and ranks seventh all-time with 9,887 assists. He retired as the all-time leader in triple-doubles (181), but Westbrook recently broke that record.

The Big O was a proficient scorer for most of his career, averaging at least 30 points in six different seasons, and he never shot less than 45 percent from the field until his final season in the league at age 35. He was named to 11 All-NBA teams, 12 All-Star games and is one of six people to be named MVP of the All-Star game at least three times.

He finished in the top three of MVP voting five times and won his lone MVP in 1964. In 68, Robertson became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in both scoring and assists per game in the same season.

He played his first 10 seasons with the Cincinnati Royals before moving to Milwaukee, where he was also an integral piece for the 1971 championship team. The Bucks swept the Baltimore Bullets to win the title, and he averaged 23.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 9.5 assists in the Finals, including 30 points and 9 assists performance in a decisive game four victory.

He retired following the 1974 season with 26,710 points, 7,804 rebounds, and 9,887 assists. He still holds the Cincinnati Royals/Sacramento Kings franchise record for points and assists. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980, and his number 14 jersey was retired by the Kings.

Honorable Mention: Bob Cousy

Greatest NBA Player to wear each jersey number: 13, Wilt Chamberlain

Listed at 7’1″ tall with out-of-this-world leaping abilities, Wilt Chamberlain is one of the most polarizing players of all time and considered one of the greatest big men to ever play the game of basketball. He is responsible for the top-four single-season scoring averages of all-time as well as the top-three and six of the top-10 single-season rebounding averages of all-time.

His size and athleticism allowed him to score at will over nearly any defender. He is the only player to score at least 70 points in a game multiple times and the only player in league history to score 100 points in a single game. He’s also the only player in league history to score at least 4,000 points in a single season; Michael Jordan is the only other player to score at least 3,000.  Chamberlin is also the only center to lead the NBA in assists and the only center to accumulate at least 600 assists in a single season, achieving the feat twice in his career (1967 and 1968).

Over the course of 14 years, the Big Dipper was naked Rookie of the Year, selected to 13 All-Star games, 10 All-NBA teams, named league MVP four times, led the league in rebounding 11 times, led the league in scoring seven times, led the league in field goal percentage nine times, and named All-Defensive first team twice. He also won two championships, one with the Philadelphia 76ers and one with the Los Angeles Lakers.

He retired with career averages of 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game on 54 percent shooting. Steals and blocks weren’t tracked during his playing days, or he’d likely be among the all-time leaders in those categories as well. At the time of his retirement, he was the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, but his 31,419 points currently rank seventh all-time.

His number 13 jersey was retired by the Golden State Warriors, 76ers, Lakers, and even the Harlem Globetrotters. He was a member of the 1979 Hall of Fame class.

Honorable Mention: James Harden