How Does An NBA Player Get Their Jersey Retired?

We’ve gotten the privilege of seeing it a lot throughout the years, star players getting their jerseys retired by their franchise. It’s usually a wonderful moment between both sides as it cements them in the history books of their organization. However, it isn’t often that this happens.

How Does an NBA Player Get His Jersey Retired? There could be a few reasons why a player gets their jersey retired. The first and most obvious one is their play on the court. If there is a superstar player out there that dominates the competition and brings historic levels of postseason success, then there’s no question that his jersey will be retired.

Other players could get their jersey retired due to franchise impact. Even if they are there for only a couple of years, the impact left behind could be enough. Then finally, loyalty could get the job done. If a player stays on the same team for a lengthy career, then when he eventually retires the team may honor him with his jersey being retired.

There may be multiple methods to get a jersey retired by a franchise, but none of them are easy to do by any stretch of the imagination. Plus, there are a handful of great players that have yet to receive this honor despite being retired.

On-Court Dominance

The first thing we mentioned is that statistical and on-court dominance can get a player’s jersey retired by their team. That was the case for a lot of players, including Michael Jordan. Jordan saw the Chicago Bulls retire his jersey after he retired and it was because he dominated everybody in his path. He won six NBA Championships with the organization and averaged 30.1 points per game, the best career scoring average in the history of the league. Plus, the organization hasn’t been nearly as successful when he isn’t on the team. For example, they have only been able to make it into the Conference Finals one time without Jordan, and they didn’t even win that series. Another player would be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers were a team that just couldn’t make it over the hump before Kareem. They lost eight out of their nine total NBA Finals appearances and needed that next star to come in and push them over the top. When Kareem joined, he won five championships in 14 seasons. The Lakers were forever looked at differently. Then finally, we have Larry Bird. Bird was a mix of loyalty and on-court dominance but he was too good to be left off of this section. Bird played all 13 years of his career for the Boston Celtics and he won three NBA Championships against ridiculously talented competition including Magic Johnson and Julius Erving. He’s won the MVP award and consistently dominated the opposing team with his trash talk and winning mentality. Nowadays, he is known as arguably the best player to ever put on the Boston Celtics jersey and that’s something that will likely never be changed moving forward.

Loyalty

The first and most notable person that comes to mind when talking about loyalty is Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki was a member of the Dallas Mavericks throughout his entire career from 1998 all the way to 2019. Each of those years saw him dominate and help bring a winning culture and mentality to the organization moving forward. Plus, he also came away with one of the more unexpected NBA Championship runs that the league has ever seen. Even taking down the Miami Heat big three in the NBA Finals which included LeBron James. Dirk will forever be known in Maverick’s history and this jersey retirement solidified that. Another player would be Kobe Bryant. He was initially drafted by the Charlotte Hornets then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. From that point on, he didn’t play anywhere else. Kobe won multiple championships and dominated alongside Shaquille O’Neal. Bryant made it clear that he never wanted to play anywhere else and became a legend in their franchise. His mentality and work ethic also played a major factor in his retirement ceremony. Then finally, we come to Nick Collison. Unlike those previous two names, Collison wasn’t a championship winner and superstar player. He simply was a veteran leader and mentor for years and years. He spent all of his career with one organization, getting drafted to the Seattle Supersonics and staying there as they were rebranded as the Oklahoma City Thunder. He helped the team in a variety of ways on and off the court and is a personality that the team decided to memorialize forever.

What does it mean to have a Jersey Retired?

Typically when a member of an NBA Franchise has their jersey retired, it will be hung in the rafters, they will be presented with a framed version and the number will be removed from availability. No player will wear that jersey number for the Franchise again. This is a great honor and one of the most foundational ways a Franchise can honor a person. Most commonly it would be a player of great standing, either through longevity, loyalty or achievement. However many Franchises choose to honor owners, coaches, broadcasters, stadium announcers. The Miami Heat have even retired their #13 Jersey in honor of legendary Dolphins Quarterback Dan Marino. There is no official rule on jersey retirements dictated by the NBA, each Franchise is free to create and follow their own traditions.

Complete List of Retired NBA Jerseys

Below is a comprehensive list of NBA Jersey retirements, including, number, position and years served in the Franchise:

Jersey Number	Name	Franchise	Years with franchise	Position
9	Bob Pettit	Atlanta Hawks	1954–1965	Forward
21	Dominique Wilkins	Atlanta Hawks	1982–1994	Forward
23	Lou Hudson	Atlanta Hawks	1966–1977	Forward
44	Pete Maravich	Atlanta Hawks	1970–1974	Guard
55	Dikembe Mutombo	Atlanta Hawks	1996–2001	Center
59	Kasim Reed	Atlanta Hawks	2010–2018	59th Mayor
—	Ted Turner	Atlanta Hawks	1977–2001	Owner
0	Robert Parish	Boston Celtics	1980–1994	Center
1	Walter A. Brown	Boston Celtics	1946–1964	Founder
2	Red Auerbach	Boston Celtics	1950–2006	Legend
3	Dennis Johnson	Boston Celtics	1983–1990	Guard
5	Kevin Garnett	Boston Celtics	2007–2013	Forward
6	Bill Russell	Boston Celtics	1956–1969	Center
10	Jo Jo White	Boston Celtics	1969–1979	Guard
14	Bob Cousy	Boston Celtics	1950–1963	Guard
15	Tom Heinsohn	Boston Celtics	1956–1965	Forward
16	Satch Sanders	Boston Celtics	1960–1973	Forward
17	John Havlicek	Boston Celtics	1962–1978	Forward
18	Dave Cowens	Boston Celtics	1970–1980	Center
19	Don Nelson	Boston Celtics	1965–1976	Forward
21	Bill Sharman	Boston Celtics	1951–1961	Guard
22	Ed Macauley	Boston Celtics	1950–1956	Center
23	Frank Ramsey	Boston Celtics	1954–1964	Forward
24	Sam Jones	Boston Celtics	1957–1969	Guard
25	K. C. Jones	Boston Celtics	1958–1967	Guard
31	Cedric Maxwell	Boston Celtics	1977–1985	Forward
32	Kevin McHale	Boston Celtics	1980–1993	Forward
33	Larry Bird	Boston Celtics	1979–1992	Forward
34	Paul Pierce	Boston Celtics	1998–2013	Forward
35	Reggie Lewis	Boston Celtics	1987–1993	Guard
LOSCY	Jim Loscutoff	Boston Celtics	1955–1964	Forward
	Johnny Most	Boston Celtics	1953–1990	Broadcaster
3	Dražen Petrović	Brooklyn Nets	1991–1993	Guard
5	Jason Kidd	Brooklyn Nets	2001–2008	Guard
23	John Williamson	Brooklyn Nets	1973–1980	Guard
25	Bill Melchionni	Brooklyn Nets	1969–1976	Guard
32	Julius Erving	Brooklyn Nets	1973–1976	Forward
52	Buck Williams	Brooklyn Nets	1981–1989	Forward
13	Bobby Phills	Charlotte Hornets	1997–2000	Guard
4	Jerry Sloan	Chicago Bulls	1966–1976	Guard
10	Bob Love	Chicago Bulls	1968–1976	Forward
23	Michael Jordan	Chicago Bulls	1984–1993 1995–1998	Guard
33	Scottie Pippen	Chicago Bulls	1987–1998 2003–2004	Forward
—	Phil Jackson[2]	Chicago Bulls	1989–1998	Head Coach
—	Jerry Krause[2]	Chicago Bulls	1985–2003	GM
7	Bingo Smith	Cleveland Cavaliers	1970–1979	Forward
11	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Cleveland Cavaliers	1997–2010	Center
22	Larry Nance	Cleveland Cavaliers	1988–1994	Forward
25	Mark Price	Cleveland Cavaliers	1986–1995	Guard
34	Austin Carr	Cleveland Cavaliers	1971–1980	Guard
42	Nate Thurmond	Cleveland Cavaliers	1975–1977	Center
43	Brad Daugherty	Cleveland Cavaliers	1986–1994	Center
	Joe Tait	Cleveland Cavaliers	1970–1981 1983–2011	Broadcaster
12	Derek Harper	Dallas Mavericks	1983–1994 1996–1997	Guard
15	Brad Davis	Dallas Mavericks	1980–1992	Guard
22	Rolando Blackman	Dallas Mavericks	1981–1992	Guard
41	Dirk Nowitzki	Dallas Mavericks	1998–2019	Forward
2	Alex English	Denver Nuggets	1980–1990	Forward
12	Fat Lever	Denver Nuggets	1984–1990	Guard
33	David Thompson	Denver Nuggets	1975–1982	Forward
40	Byron Beck	Denver Nuggets	1967–1977	Center
44	Dan Issel	Denver Nuggets	1975–1985	Center
55	Dikembe Mutombo	Denver Nuggets	1991–1996	Center
432	Doug Moe	Denver Nuggets	1980–1990	Head Coach
1	Chauncey Billups	Detroit Pistons	2002–2008 2013–2014	Guard
2	Chuck Daly	Detroit Pistons	1983–1992	Head Coach
3	Ben Wallace	Detroit Pistons	2000–2006 2009–2012	Center
4	Joe Dumars	Detroit Pistons	1985–1999	Guard
10	Dennis Rodman	Detroit Pistons	1986–1993	Forward
11	Isiah Thomas	Detroit Pistons	1981–1994	Guard
15	Vinnie Johnson	Detroit Pistons	1981–1991	Guard
16	Bob Lanier	Detroit Pistons	1970–1980	Center
21	Dave Bing	Detroit Pistons	1966–1975	Guard
32	Richard Hamilton	Detroit Pistons	2002–2011	Guard
40	Bill Laimbeer	Detroit Pistons	1982–1993	Center
—	William Davidson	Detroit Pistons	1974–2009	Owner
—	Jack McCloskey	Detroit Pistons	1979–1992	GM
13	Wilt Chamberlain	Golden State Warriors	1959–1965	Center
14	Tom Meschery	Golden State Warriors	1961–1967	Forward
16	Al Attles	Golden State Warriors	1960–1971	Guard
17	Chris Mullin	Golden State Warriors	1985–1997 2000–2001	Forward
24	Rick Barry	Golden State Warriors	1965–1967 1972–1978	Forward
42	Nate Thurmond	Golden State Warriors	1963–1974	Center
11	Yao Ming	Houston Rockets	2002–2011	Center
22	Clyde Drexler	Houston Rockets	1995–1998	Guard
23	Calvin Murphy	Houston Rockets	1970–1983	Guard
24	Moses Malone	Houston Rockets	1976–1982	Center
34	Hakeem Olajuwon	Houston Rockets	1984–2001	Center
45	Rudy Tomjanovich	Houston Rockets	1970–1981	Forward
CD	Carroll Dawson	Houston Rockets	1980–2007	GM
30	George McGinnis	Indiana Pacers	1971–1975 1980–1982	Forward
31	Reggie Miller	Indiana Pacers	1987–2005	Guard
34	Mel Daniels	Indiana Pacers	1967–1974	Center
35	Roger Brown	Indiana Pacers	1967–1974	Forward
529	Bobby Leonard	Indiana Pacers	1968–1980	Head Coach
8	Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers	1996–2006	Guard
13	Wilt Chamberlain	Los Angeles Lakers	1968–1973	Center
22	Elgin Baylor	Los Angeles Lakers	1958–1971	Forward
24	Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers	2006–2016	Guard
25	Gail Goodrich	Los Angeles Lakers	1965–1968 1970–1976	Guard
32	Earvin “Magic” Johnson	Los Angeles Lakers	1979–1991 1996	Guard
33	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Los Angeles Lakers	1975–1989	Center
34	Shaquille O’Neal	Los Angeles Lakers	1996–2004	Center
42	James Worthy	Los Angeles Lakers	1982–1994	Forward
44	Jerry West	Los Angeles Lakers	1960–1974	Guard
52	Jamaal Wilkes	Los Angeles Lakers	1977–1985	Forward
	Chick Hearn	Los Angeles Lakers	1961–2002	Broadcaster
50	Zach Randolph	Memphis Grizzlies	2009–2017	Forward
	Don Poier	Memphis Grizzlies	1995–2005	Broadcaster
1	Chris Bosh	Miami Heat	2010–2016	Forward
3	Dwyane Wade	Miami Heat	2003–2016 2018–2019	Guard
10	Tim Hardaway	Miami Heat	1996–2001	Guard
13	Dan Marino	Miami Heat	—	Quarter Back
23	Michael Jordan	Miami Heat	—	G.O.A.T
32	Shaquille O’Neal	Miami Heat	2004–2008	Center
33	Alonzo Mourning	Miami Heat	1995–2002 2005–2008	Center
1	Oscar Robertson	Milwaukee Bucks	1970–1974	Guard
2	Junior Bridgeman	Milwaukee Bucks	1975–1984 1986–1987	Forward
4	Sidney Moncrief	Milwaukee Bucks	1979–1989	Guard
8	Marques Johnson	Milwaukee Bucks	1977–1984	Forward
10	Bob Dandridge	Milwaukee Bucks	1969–1977 1981	Forward
14	Jon McGlocklin	Milwaukee Bucks	1968–1976	Guard
16	Bob Lanier	Milwaukee Bucks	1980–1984	Center
32	Brian Winters	Milwaukee Bucks	1975–1983	Guard
33	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Milwaukee Bucks	1969–1975	Center
2	Malik Sealy	Minnesota Timberwolves	1997–2000	Forward
Flip	Flip Saunders	Minnesota Timberwolves	1995–2005 2014–2015	Head Coach
7	Pete Maravich	New Orleans Pelicans	—	Guard
10	Walt Frazier	New York Knicks	1967–1977	Guard
12	Dick Barnett	New York Knicks	1965–1973	Guard
15	Earl Monroe	New York Knicks	1971–1980	Guard
15	Dick McGuire	New York Knicks	1949–1957	Guard
19	Willis Reed	New York Knicks	1964–1974	Center
22	Dave DeBusschere	New York Knicks	1968–1974	Forward
24	Bill Bradley	New York Knicks	1967–1977	Forward
33	Patrick Ewing	New York Knicks	1985–2000	Center
613	Red Holzman	New York Knicks	1967–1977 1978–1982	Head Coach
4	Nick Collison	Oklahoma City Thunder	2003–2018	Forward
6	Sixth man	Orlando Magic	—	The Fans
2	Moses Malone	Philadelphia 76ers	1982–1986 1993–1994	Center
3	Allen Iverson	Philadelphia 76ers	1996–2006 2009–2010	Guard
4	Dolph Schayes	Philadelphia 76ers	1949–1964	Centre
6	Julius Erving	Philadelphia 76ers	1976–1987	Forward
10	Maurice Cheeks	Philadelphia 76ers	1978–1989	Guard
13	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia 76ers	1965–1968	Center
15	Hal Greer	Philadelphia 76ers	1958–1973	Guard
24	Bobby Jones	Philadelphia 76ers	1978–1986	Forward
32	Billy Cunningham	Philadelphia 76ers	1965–1972 1974–1975	Forward
34	Charles Barkley	Philadelphia 76ers	1984–1992	Forward
	Dave Zinkoff	Philadelphia 76ers	1963–1981 1983–1985	Announcer
5	Dick Van Arsdale	Phoenix Suns	1968–1977	Guard
6	Walter Davis	Phoenix Suns	1977–1988	Guard
7	Kevin Johnson	Phoenix Suns	1987–1998 2000	Guard
33	Alvan Adams	Phoenix Suns	1975–1988	Center
42	Connie Hawkins	Phoenix Suns	1968–1974	Forward
44	Paul Westphal	Phoenix Suns	1975–1980 1983–1984	Guard
—	Jerry Colangelo	Phoenix Suns	1968–2005	Owner, Head Coach
—	Cotton Fitzsimmons	Phoenix Suns	1970–1972 1988–1992 1996	Head Coach
—	John MacLeod	Phoenix Suns	1973–1987	Head Coach
—	Joe Proski	Phoenix Suns	1968–2000	Trainer
	Al McCoy	Phoenix Suns	1972–present	Broadcaster
1	Larry Weinberg	Portland Trail Blazers	1970–1988	Founder
13	Dave Twardzik	Portland Trail Blazers	1976–1981	Guard
14	Lionel Hollins	Portland Trail Blazers	1975–1981	Guard
15	Larry Steele	Portland Trail Blazers	1971–1981	Guard
20	Maurice Lucas	Portland Trail Blazers	1976–1981 1987–1988	Forward
22	Clyde Drexler	Portland Trail Blazers	1983–1995	Guard
30	Terry Porter	Portland Trail Blazers	1985–1995	Guard
30	Bob Gross	Portland Trail Blazers	1975–1982	Forward
32	Bill Walton	Portland Trail Blazers	1974–1978	Center
36	Lloyd Neal	Portland Trail Blazers	1972–1979	Center
45	Geoff Petrie	Portland Trail Blazers	1970–1976	Guard
(19)77	Jack Ramsay	Portland Trail Blazers	1976–1986	Head Coach
	Bill Schonely	Portland Trail Blazers	1970–1998	Broadcaster
1	Nate Archibald	Sacramento Kings	1970–1976	Guard
2	Mitch Richmond	Sacramento Kings	1991–1998	Guard
4	Chris Webber	Sacramento Kings	1998–2005	Forward
6	Sixth man	Sacramento Kings	—	The Fans
11	Bob Davies	Sacramento Kings	1948–1955	Guard
12	Maurice Stokes	Sacramento Kings	1955–1958	Forward
14	Oscar Robertson	Sacramento Kings	1960–1970	Guard
16	Peja Stojakovic	Sacramento Kings	1999–2006	Forward
21	Vlade Divac	Sacramento Kings	1999–2004	Center
27	Jack Twyman	Sacramento Kings	1955–1966	Forward
44	Sam Lacey	Sacramento Kings	1970–1981	Center
0	Johnny Moore	San Antonio Spurs	1980–1988 1989–1990	Guard
6	Avery Johnson	San Antonio Spurs	1991 1992–1993 1994–2001	Guard
9	Tony Parker	San Antonio Spurs	2001–2018	Guard
12	Bruce Bowen	San Antonio Spurs	2001–2009	Forward
13	James Silas	San Antonio Spurs	1973–1981	Guard
20	Manu Ginobili	San Antonio Spurs	2002–2018	Guard
21	Tim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	1997–2016	Forward
32	Sean Elliott	San Antonio Spurs	1989–1993 1994–2001	Forward
44	George Gervin	San Antonio Spurs	1974–1985	Guard
50	David Robinson	San Antonio Spurs	1989–2003	Center
1	Gus Williams	Seattle SuperSonics	1976–1985	Guard
10	Nate McMillan	Seattle SuperSonics	1985–1998	Guard
19	Lenny Wilkens	Seattle SuperSonics	1968–1972	Guard
24	Spencer Haywood	Seattle SuperSonics	1971–1975	Forward
32	Fred Brown	Seattle SuperSonics	1971–1984	Guard
43	Jack Sikma	Seattle SuperSonics	1977–1986	Center
6	Bob Blackburn	Seattle SuperSonics	1967–1992	Announcer
1	Frank Layden	Utah Jazz	1981–1988	Head Coach
4	Adrian Dantley	Utah Jazz	1979–1986	Forward
7	Pete Maravich	Utah Jazz	1974–1979	Guard
9	Larry Miller	Utah Jazz	1985–2009	Owner
12	John Stockton	Utah Jazz	1984–2003	Guard
14	Jeff Hornacek	Utah Jazz	1994–2000	Guard
32	Karl Malone	Utah Jazz	1985–2003	Forward
35	Darrell Griffith	Utah Jazz	1980–1991	Guard
53	Mark Eaton	Utah Jazz	1982–1993	Center
1223	Jerry Sloan	Utah Jazz	1988–2011	Head Coach
	Hot Rod Hundley	Utah Jazz	1974–2009	Broadcaster
10	Earl Monroe	Washington Wizards	1967–1971	Guard
11	Elvin Hayes	Washington Wizards	1972–1981	Forward
25	Gus Johnson	Washington Wizards	1963–1972	Forward
41	Wes Unseld	Washington Wizards	1968–1981	Center
45	Phil Chenier	Washington Wizards	1971–1979	Guard

Bill Russell; the number 6 jersey retured in every franchise

On 11th August 2022, 12 Days after the legend Bill Russell passed away at the age of 88 the NBA announced that the 11 time champions number 6 jersey would be retired across all franchises.

This is a massive mark of respect for a man who represented the NBA impeccably, both on and off the court for his entire life.

The players who currently wear the iconic number 6 jersey are listed below. The NBA has stated that they may continue wearing number 6 indefinitely, although the number cannot be issued again by any NBA Franchises. The Celtics retired Russell’s No. 6 in 1972, it was not worn by a Celtic between then and his final season in 1968-69.

The NBA and NBPA announced today that they will honor the life and legacy of 11-time NBA champion and civil rights pioneer Bill Russell by permanently retiring his uniform number, 6, throughout the league.

Full release: https://t.co/jFjZwKtiB2 pic.twitter.com/LdXT4Mf8W7
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 11, 2022

There are 18 current players wearing the number 6 jersey, they may choose to change their number in honour of Russell before the season starts, listed below;

LeBron James – Lakers
Alex Caruso – Bulls
Kristaps Porzingis – Wizards
Lou Williams – Hawks
Lance Stephenson – Pacers
Nickeil Alexander-Walker – Jazz
Hamidou Diallo – Pistons
Bryn Forbes – Timberwolves (last wore 6 in Denver)
Quentin Grimes – Knicks
Jalen McDaniels – Hornets
Jordan McLaughlin – Timberwolves
Kenyon Martin Jr. – Rockets
Moses Brown – Mavericks
David Duke Jr. – Nets
Melvin Frazier – Thunder
Keon Johnson – Blazers
Javonte Smart – Heat
Rayjon Tucker – Bucks

Currently 7 teams, including the Celtics have already retired the number 6 jersey, listed below;

Boston Celtics – Bill Russell
Orlando Magic – 6th Man (The Fans)
Philadelphia 76ers – Julius Erving
Pheonix Suns – Walter Davis
Scaramento Kings – 6th Man (The Fans)
San Antonio Spurs – Avery Johnson
Seattle Supersonics – Bob Blackburn

There are 12 players, including Russell currently in the Basketball Hall of Fame who wore the number 6 jersey at some point during their time in the NBA. The full list:

Bill Russell – Number 6 Jersey Retired
Julius Erving – Number 6 Jersey Retired
Patrick Ewing
Ben Wallace
Don Barksdale
Chuck Coopee
Larry Costello
Tom Gola
Cliff Hagan
Alex Hannum
Buddy Jeanette
Neil Johnston

Why is Michael Jordan’s Jersey retired in Miami?

You may have noticed that the Miami Heat have retired the Number 23 Jersey. This was done to honor the GOATs contributions to Basketball after his final retirement from the Washington Wizards in 2003. Famously it meant that Lebron James had to change from his customary 23, to number 6 when he joined the Heat, despite the fact his idol Jordan had never even played for the Franchise.

What NBA Franchise has retired the most Jerseys? (list)

In total (as of 2022) there have been 210 jerseys retired by NBA Franchises.

Boston have retired the most, with 25 Jerseys hanging in their rafters. At the other end of the spectrum, the Raptors and the Clippers have not retired any Jerseys. The only Franchise no longer in operation with Jerseys listed as retired is the Seattle SuperSonics, who retired 7 Jerseys before they moved to Oklahoma and rebranded as the Thunder.

Full list of retired Jerseys by NBA Franchise is listed below:

List of Retired Jerseys by NBA Franchise
Franchise	Number of retired Jerseys
Boston Celtics	25
Detroit Pistons	13
Portland Trail Blazers	13
Los Angeles Lakers	12
Philadelphia 76ers	11
Phoenix Suns	11
Sacramento Kings	11
Utah Jazz	11
San Antonio Spurs	10
Milwaukee Bucks	9
New York Knicks	9
Cleveland Cavaliers	8
Atlanta Hawks	7
Denver Nuggets	7
Houston Rockets	7
Miami Heat	7
Seattle SuperSonics	7
Brooklyn Nets	6
Chicago Bulls	6
Golden State Warriors	6
Indiana Pacers	5
Washington Wizards	5
Dallas Mavericks	4
Memphis Grizzlies	2
Minnesota Timberwolves	2
Charlotte Hornets	1
New Orleans Pelicans	1
Oklahoma City Thunder	1
Orlando Magic	1
LA Clippers	0
Toronto Raptors	0

What player has the most Jerseys retired?

Due to the nature of Jersey retirements implying a long standing loyalty to a franchise the amount of players with multiple jerseys retired is quite low. 15 Players have had their Jersey retired more than once. In addition The Sacramento Kings and Orlando Magic have both retired Jersey number 6 representing the “Sixth Man” – the Fans.

Kobe Bryant has had his Jersey retired twice by the same Franchise. Both his original number 8 and later career, 24, jerseys hang in the rafters when the Lakers play. He is the only player with this distinction.

The list of players with their jersey retired by 2 franchises reads as follows:

Bob Lanier – (Pistons, Bucks)
Clyde Drexler (Rockets, Blazers)
Dikembe Mutombo (Hawks, Nuggets)
Earl Monroe (Knicks, Wizards)
Jerry Sloan (Bulls, Jazz as Coach)
Julius Erving (Nets, 76ers)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Bucks Lakers)
Moses Malone (Rockets, 76ers)
Nate Thurmond (Cavs, Warriors)
Michael Jordan (Bulls, Heat)
Oscar Robertson (Bucks, Kings)
Shaquille O’Neal (Lakers, Heat)

The two players with the most Jerseys retired by NBA Franchises are Wilt Chamberlain and Pete Maravich. They both have 3 Jerseys retired.

Pete Maravich has jerseys retired by the Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz. Maravich played in New Orleans for the Jazz, before they moved to Salt Lake City. The Pelicans Franchise decided to retire his Jersey in honor of his services to New Orleans Basketball, despite him never actually playing for the Franchise.

Wilt Chamberlain has jerseys retired by the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers. Wilt played for the Warriors in both Philadelphia and San Francisco, so both franchises have honored the 100 point man with a jersey retirement.

Why do non-playing staff have their Jersey retired?

It takes a village to raise a child. This saying can mean many things, but to NBA Franchises it means that it’s not just the GM or the Head Coach or even the Star Player who brings success to a Franchise. The act of retiring a jersey is designed to honor a person for their loyal service to a franchise. This is why we see many retirements for broadcasters, GMs, coaches, announcers and even one Mayor (Atlantas 59th Mayor, Kasim Reed). Service comes in many forms.

Head Coaches are usually honored with the amount of Wins they gained for the franchise in place of the jersey number. Broadcast teams are often represented by a microphone. Each franchise has their own unique way of doing things.

Players That Should Get Their Jerseys Retired

The first player that should get their jersey retired is Dennis Rodman. Now, he does have it retired with the Detroit Pistons, but a lot of people remember him throughout his years with the Chicago Bulls. Chicago hasn’t decided to retire his jersey. Rodman won multiple championships with both Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, each of whom have seen their jersey lifted into the rafters. However, Rodman’s 5.2 points and 15.3 rebounds per game apparently wasn’t enough to get solidified. There is still an opportunity for him to get put up there, but it’s shocking that it hasn’t been done already. Another player would be Tracy McGrady. T-Mac did have stellar runs with multiple teams, but neither has put him into the rafters. He was stellar on both the Orlando Magic and the Houston Rockets, with major moments coming on both franchises. However, the majority of them came with a Rockets jersey on, which is why they should decide to retire his jersey for good. Just remember when he scored 13 points in 35 seconds with them. Then finally, Amar’e Stoudemire should get retired by the Phoenix Suns. Stoudemire was excellent alongside Steve Nash with Phoenix and was there for eight seasons. He won the Rookie of the Year award and was named to the All-Star team five times along with All-NBA honors four times.