With Paul Pierce having his #34 retired by the Boston Celtics on Sunday, let’s take a look at 10 players who also at least deserve consideration to have their jersey retired at some point.
No active players are listed and it is fairly obvious someone like Kevin Garnett will have his jersey retired by the Minnesota Timberwolves shortly. Most of these players saw their careers come to an end not too long ago, but a couple seem long overdue to have their jersey in the rafters.
#30 Bernard King - New York Knicks
While King played just 206 regular season games in a Knicks uniform, he arguably was the best scorer the team ever had.
He averaged 26.5 points in his Knicks tenure including a league-leading 32.9 in the 1984-85 season (highest average in franchise history).
#22 Tayshaun Prince - Detroit Pistons
Detroit has retired the jerseys of Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton, and Chauncey Billups, all members of their 2004 NBA Championship team. None of them had the longevity with the team that Prince did as he appeared in 792 regular season games with the Pistons over 12 seasons. He made four straight All-Defensive Second Teams from the 2004-05 to the 2007-08 seasons.
#33 Grant Hill - Detroit Pistons
Hill spent his first six seasons with the Pistons. During that time, he won Rookie of the Year in 1995, made five All-Star teams, and was an All-NBA member five times (1X First Team, 4X Second Team).
His career in Detroit saw him post averages of 21.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.
#22 Michael Redd - Milwaukee Bucks
Redd played 11 seasons with the Bucks averaging 20.0 Points Per Game during his time with the club. He had a scoring average of at least 21.2 for six straight seasons including a career-high 26.7 in 2007-08.
His 11,554 points with the franchise are fourth-most in team history.
#1 Penny Hardaway - Orlando Magic
The Magic do not have a player’s jersey retired yet but Hardaway’s should. He spent his first six seasons with Orlando making four All-Star appearances. He also was named to the All-NBA First Team twice. His per game averages with Orlando were 19.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.9 steals.
#32 Shaquille O’Neal - Orlando Magic
While the Magic may not have been happy when he left in free agency for the Lakers, O’Neal is likely the best player the team ever had. He spent his first four seasons with the team helping lead Orlando to the NBA Finals in 1995. He also won Rookie of the Year in 1993 and won the scoring title in the same season they won the Eastern Conference.
#42 Kevin Willis - Atlanta Hawks
Willis ranks third in team-history with 7,332 rebounds, fourth with 753 games played with the Hawks, and seventh with 10,582 points. Four times with Atlanta he averaged a double-double in scoring and rebounding.
#24 Mark Aguirre - Dallas Mavericks
Aguirre was one of the league’s top scorers in his time with Dallas.
He made three All-Star teams and averaged 24.6 points in his 566 games with the Mavericks. He was second in the NBA averaging 29.5 points per game in the 1983-84 season.
#7 Jermaine O’Neal - Indiana Pacers
O’Neal made six straight All-Star teams as a member of the Pacers. He made the All-NBA Second Team once and Third Team twice while with Indiana. During his 514-game tenure with the Pacers, he averaged 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game.
#31 Shawn Marion - Phoenix Suns
”The Matrix” averaged a double-double in his Phoenix career with 18.4 points and 10.0 rebounds in 660 games. He also averaged 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per games with the Suns. Marion made four All-Star appearances and twice made the All-NBA Third Team.
