If you join the Celtics, you can forget about wearing your favorite number

http://hoopshype.com/2015/08/13/if-you-join-the-celtics-you-can-forget-about-wearing-your-favorite-number/



If you join the Celtics, you can forget about wearing your favorite number
August 13, 2015- by HoopsHype








Last month, Amir Johnson, David Lee, Perry Jones, Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko were introduced to the media in Boston smiling to the cameras with their new Celtic jerseys.

For Jones and Johnson, not only the colors were new but also the numbers. Johnson will wear No. 90 instead of the 15 he used at Westchester HS and Toronto. Jones, who played with No. 3 throughout his high school and pro career, will don No. 38.

Crowder and Jerebko, who are not new to the Celtics, will return with jersey numbers they had never worn for any other team before.

That’s not an exception to the rule but actually a pattern with the Celtics. The storied franchise has retired the jersey number of 21 different players. Factor in teammates that were already there before they arrived and newcomers in Boston have very little chance of wearing their favorite number.

How little?

We did research on the 105 NBA players that have competed for Boston between 2005-06 and 2014-15 and found out only 24 (22.8 percent) were able to play with their usual number in a Celtic jersey.

This is the full list.

Player Usual Number Celtic Number Change
Avery Bradley 0 0 No
Jared Sullinger 0 7 Yes
Glen Davis 0 11 Yes
James Young 1 13 Yes
Phil Pressey 1 26 Yes
Terrence Williams 1 55 Yes
Isaiah Thomas 2 4 Yes
Chris Babb 2 52 Yes
Nate Robinson 2 4 Yes
Gerald Wallace 3 45 Yes
DJ White 3 12 Yes
Troy Murphy 3 30 Yes
Stephon Marbury 3 8 Yes
Marcus Banks 3 11 Yes
Michael Finley 4 40 Yes
JR Giddens 4 4 No
Marcus Thornton 5 4 Yes
Keyon Dooling 5 51 Yes
Eddie House 5 50 Yes
Henry Walker 5 12 Yes
Orien Greene 5 0 Yes
Marquis Daniels 6 7 Yes
Jermaine O’Neal 7 7 No
Ryan Gomes 8 4 Yes
Marshon Brooks 9 12 Yes
Rajon Rondo 9 9 No
Semih Erden 9 86 Yes
Justin Reed 9 9 No
Keith Bogans 10 4 Yes
Leandro Barbosa 10 12 Yes
Sam Cassell 10 28 Yes
Wally Szczerbiak 10 55 Yes
Jonas Jerebko 11 8 Yes
Courtney Lee 11 11 No
Aleksandar Pavlovic 11 11 No
Evan Turner 12 11 Yes
Nenad Krstic 12 4 Yes
Kelly Olynyk 13 41 Yes
Gigi Datome 13 70 Yes
Vander Blue 13 13 No
Vitor Faverani 13 38 Yes
Delonte West 13 13 No
Gabe Pruitt 13 13 No
Jameer Nelson 14 28 Yes
Lester Hudson 14 26 Yes
Marcus Landry 14 12 Yes
Allan Ray 14 12 Yes
Ryan Hollins 15 50 Yes
Mickael Pietrus 20 28 Yes
Chris Johnson 20 86 Yes
Oliver Lafayette 20 40 Yes
Tayshaun Prince 21 12 Yes
Kevin Garnett 21 5 Yes
Kevinn Pinkney 21 51 Yes
Dan Dickau 21 20 Yes
Jeff Green 22 8 Yes
Christapher Johnson 23 12 Yes
Von Wafer 23 12 Yes
Tony Allen 24 42 Yes
Brian Scalabrine 24 44 Yes
JaJuan Johnson 25 12 Yes
Gerald Green 25 5 Yes
Al Jefferson 25 7 Yes
Patrick O’Bryant 26 26 No
Dwayne Jones 27 27 No
Brandon Bass 30 30 No
Carlos Arroyo 30 45 Yes
Rasheed Wallace 30 30 No
Mark Blount 30 30 No
Darko Milicic 31 99 Yes
Jason Terry 31 4 Yes
Mikki Moore 31 7 Yes
Scot Pollard 31 66 Yes
Sebastian Telfair 31 30 Yes
Ricky Davis 31 12 Yes
Jae Crowder 32 99 Yes
Brandan Wright 32 12 Yes
Jerryd Bayless 32 11 Yes
Kris Joseph 32 43 Yes
Jarvis Varnado 32 41 Yes
Shaquille O’Neal 32 36 Yes
Marcus Smart 33 36 Yes
Dwight Powell 33 12 Yes
Shelden Williams 33 13 Yes
Jason Collins 34 98 Yes
Paul Pierce 34 34 No
Ray Allen 34 20 Yes
Greg Stiemsma 34 54 Yes
Michael Olowokandi 34 41 Yes
Fab Melo 41 13 Yes
James Posey 41 41 No
Shavlik Randolph 42 42 No
PJ Brown 42 93 Yes
Theo Ratliff 42 50 Yes
Kris Humphries 43 43 No
Kendrick Perkins 43 43 No
Tyler Zeller 44 44 No
Luke Harangody 44 55 Yes
Leon Powe 44 0 Yes
Raef LaFrentz 45 45 No
Joel Anthony 50 50 No
Sean Williams 51 56 Yes
Chris Wilcox 54 44 Yes
Jordan Crawford 55 27 Yes
E’Twaun Moore 55 55 No



bob
MY NOTE: Just a quick glance told me this list needs to be taken with a grain of salt. For example, Sully was #0 at Ohio State but had to take another number in Boston because Avery Bradley already had it. That's not the same as The Bogans having to take a number other than his usual #10 because it's retired and unavailable for anybody (and wouldn't that have been a travesty of justice if it hadn't and he wore the same number as Jojo?!). Sometimes a player, even a transient one, beats you to the punch. Jiri Welsch had #44 when Ricky Davis showed up. Scal had #44 when Powe arrived. #34 was, well, #34. That happens on a lot of teams, because players seem to prefer low numbers so they clump.


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Public Notice:

Any person leading an effort to unretire any Boston Celtics retired number will be taken by ox cart down Causeway Street, left on Cambridge Street, onto Tremont Street and delivered to Boston Common. There (s)he will be remanded to Jack, who will place him/her into a set of green-colored stocks where the prisoner will remain for three days as the object of thrown jagged pieces of parquet floor by denizens of Boston. Books chronicling this event and titled "Jack and the Green Stocks" will be available on this forum.

Jack