NBA Top Jersey Number 1 Players

To find the top players in NBA history that wore a particular number we must first look to the Hall of Fame to see which of the enshrined have played with this particular number. According to the records so far, here are the players that wore number 1 that have been enshrined.

• Chris Bosh
• Maurice Cheeks
• Allen Iverson
• Tracy McGrady
• Oscar Robertson

Tiny Archibald

Born September 2, 1948, in New York, New York, was Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Point Guard Tiny Archibald. Nate Archibald was a six-time NBA All-Star and was selected as All-NBA five times. His accolades include being the 1972-73 League scoring champion and winning an NBA Championship in 1981. The southpaw shooter played for the Cincinnati Royals, Kansas City-Omaha Kings, New York Nets, Boston Celtics, and the Milwaukee Bucks.

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Tracy McGrady

Born May 24, 1979 in Bartow, Florida, was Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Guard/Forward, Tracy McGrady. McGrady played the position of F-G wearing the number 1 on the Toronto Raptors (98, 99, 00), Orlando Magic (2001, 02, 03, 04), Houston Rockets (2005, 06, 07, 08, 09), Detroit Pistons (2011), Atlanta Hawks (2012), and the San Antonio Spurs (2013) for 10 seasons as he scored 18381 points, dished out 4161 assists, crashed the boards for 5276 rebounds, and blocked 807 shots.

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That takes us to the selection of the 15 Greatest Players to have worn the Number 1:

1. Oscar Robertson played the positions of Guard and Forward, identified by the jersey number 1 on the Milwaukee Bucks (1971-74), for four seasons as he scored 26710 points, dished out 9887 assists, crashed the boards for 7804 rebounds, and blocked four shots.

2. Allen Iverson played the position of Guard wearing the digits on the Detroit Pistons (2009) for a season as he registered 24368 points, passed for 5624 assists, hauled down 3394 rebounds, and swatted away 164 shots.

3. Tracy McGrady played the positions of Forward and Guard, wearing the number 1 on the Toronto Raptors (1998-2000), Orlando Magic (2001-04), Houston Rockets (2005-09), Detroit Pistons (2011), Atlanta Hawks (2012), and the San Antonio Spurs (2013) for ten seasons as he scored 18381 points, dished out 4161 assists, crashed the boards for 5276 rebounds, and blocked 807 shots.

4. Chris Bosh played the position(s) of F-C wearing the jersey digits on the Miami Heat (2011-16) for six years as he provided 17189 points, created 1795 assists, fought for 7592 rebounds, and blocked 932 shots.

5. Jamal Crawford played the position(s) of G wearing the digits on the Chicago Bulls (2001-04) and the Brooklyn Nets (2020) for four seasons as he registered 19419 points, passed for 4541 assists, hauled down 2948 rebounds, and swatted away 271 shots.

6. Rod Strickland played the position(s) of G donning the number on the San Antonio Spurs (1990-92), Portland Trail Blazers (1993-96, and again in 2001), Washington Bullets (1997), Washington Wizards (1998-2001), Miami Heat (2002), Minnesota Timberwolves (2003), and the Toronto Raptors (2004) for 10 Pro Basketball seasons as he scored 14463 points, helped out with 7987 assists, found the ball for 4084 rebounds, and blocked 215 opposing teams' shots in his career.

7. Ron Boone played Guard and Forward wearing the number on the Spirits of St Louis (1976) for a single season as he scored 17437 points, dished out 3842 assists, crashed the boards for 4348 rebounds, and blocked 123 shots.

8. Kyle Lowry was a Guard with this jersey identification number 1 for the Memphis Grizzlies (2007-09) for three seasons as he drained 14644 points, handed out 6207 assists, grabbed 4312 rebounds, and blocked 290 opponent's shots.

9. Amare Stoudemire played the position(s) of F-C with this jersey number for the Phoenix Suns (2007-10), New York Knicks (2011-15),  and the Dallas Mavericks (2015) for eight seasons as he registered 15994 points, passed for 1050 assists, hauled down 6632 rebounds, and swatted away 1054 shots.

10. Tiny Archibald played Guard wearing the jersey digits on the Kansas City Omaha Kings (1975), Kansas City Kings (1976), and the New York Nets (1977) for three years as he provided 16481 points, created 6476 assists, fought for 2046 rebounds, and blocked 81 shots during his entire career.

11. Chauncey Billups was a Guard with this jersey identification number on the Detroit Pistons (2003-09 and 2014), Denver Nuggets (2010-11), and the Los Angeles Clippers (2012-13) for ten seasons as he drained 15802 points, handed out 5636 assists, grabbed 2992 rebounds, and blocked 168 opponent's shots.

12. Carlos Boozer was a Center and Power Forward wearing the number on the Cleveland Cavaliers (2003-04) for two years as he provided 13976 points, created 1928 assists, fought for 8192 rebounds, and blocked 346 shots.

13. Baron Davis played Guard wearing the digits on the Charlotte Hornets (2000-02), New Orleans Hornets (2003-05), and the Los Angeles Clippers (2009-10) for six seasons as he registered 13447 points, passed for 6025 assists, hauled down 3183 rebounds, and swatted away 360 shots.

14. Maurice Cheeks played at the Guard position with this jersey number 1 for the New York Knicks (1990-91) for two seasons as he registered 12195 points, passed for 7392 assists, hauled down 3088 rebounds, and swatted away 294 shots during his long career.

15. Gus Williams was a Guard identified by the jersey number 1 on the Golden State Warriors (1976-77), Seattle SuperSonics (1978-84), Washington Bullets (1985-86), and the Atlanta Hawks (1987) for eight seasons as he scored 14093 points, dished out 4597 assists, crashed the boards for 2222 rebounds, and blocked 291 shots.

And here are the supporting numnbers to back up our selections:

Do you agree with our selections? Either way we would love to hear your feedback, contact us at PigskinDispatch@gmail.com.

Of course we also could not have done the above stat research without the assistance of Basketball-Reference.com and Stathead.com resources.

The banner photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and is a view of a basketball hoop from below.  Photo taken and contributed to the Public Domain by Mark Buckawicki.