If you need to be reminded of the Boston Celtics’ history of greatness, then look no further than Mitchell & Ness’ latest jersey graphic.
The clothing company compiled a list of the greatest NBA players by jersey number, spanning from Robert Parish’s No. 00 to Minneapolis Lakers legend George Mikan’s No. 99.
Twelve former Celtics made the cut, including Parish, Kevin Garnett (No. 5), Bill Russell (No. 6), John Havlicek (No. 17), Dave Cowens (No. 18), Sam Cassell (No. 28), Shaquille O’Neal (No. 36), Artis Gilmore (No. 53), Scot Pollard (No. 66), Chris Johnson (No. 86), Antoine Walker (No. 88) and Jason Collins (No. 98).
As you can probably tell by some of the Celtics who topped the list even, there are quite a few numbers that didn’t have many options. In fact, 11 numbers were worn by only one player, and 14 numbers haven’t been worn at all.
But other numbers had some stiff competition, as Boston fans most likely noticed that one of the franchise’s greatest players didn’t make the list. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar beat out Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Scottie Pippen among others to be crowned the best No. 33. And while it might not sit well with Celtics fans that a Los Angeles Laker received the honor, Mitchell & Ness’ explanation is hard to argue with.
“We decided to choose Kareem because at the time of his retirement in 1989, he was the NBA’s all-time leader in points scored, games played, minutes played, field goals made, field goal attempts, blocked shots, defensive rebounds, and personal fouls,” the website explains. “To this day, he remains the all-time leading scorer.”
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
