NBA Top Jersey Number 23 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. Here is a list of the NBA Number 23s that have been enshrined.

• Alex English
• Michael Jordan
• Calvin Murphy
• Frank Ramsey
• Mitch Richmond

Lou Hudson

Born: July 11, 1944 in Greensboro, North Carolina, was Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Guard/Forward Lou Hudson. "Sweet Lou" was an All-American in college as a University of Minnesota Golden Gopher. Lou was part of the first black recruiting class at Minnesota, as he, Archie Clark and Don Yates enrolled at the University of Minnesota in 1964. Hudson went on to play in the NBA with the St Louis and Atlanta Hawks, later the Los Angeles Lakers, and a six-time NBA All-Star, scoring 17,940 total points in 13 NBA seasons (1966–1979). He averaged 20.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 890 games. He shot .489 from the field and .797 from the free throw line. He was the 12th all-time leading scorer in NBA History at the time of his retirement.

Hudson's jersey number has been retired by both the Atlanta Hawks and the University of Minnesota.

More Information

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That takes us to the selection of the 15 Greatest Players to have worn the Number 23 with a list of the top players that as of January 1, 2022 have worn the number in the NBA on game days.

1. LeBron James filled the Forward and Guard positions donning the number on the Cleveland Cavaliers (2004-10 and then again from 2015-18) and the Los Angeles Lakers (2019-21) for 13 Pro Basketball seasons as he scored 38230 points, helped out with 10319 assists, found the ball for 10541 rebounds, and blocked 1065 opposing teams' shots.

2. Michael Jordan was a Guard/Forward wearing the number 23 on the Chicago Bulls (1985-93 and then again 1996-98) and the Washington Wizards (2002-03) for a total of 13 seasons as he scored 32292 points, dished out 5633 assists, crashed the boards for 6672 rebounds, and blocked 893 shots.

3. Alex English played Forward wearing the jersey digits on the Milwaukee Bucks (77) for one year as he provided 25613 points, created 4351 assists, fought for 6538 rebounds, and blocked 833 shots.

4. Mitch Richmond played the position of Guard wearing the number on the Golden State Warriors (1989-91)and the Los Angeles Lakers (2002) for three years as he provided 20497 points, created 3398 assists, fought for 3801 rebounds, and blocked 254 shots.

5. Maurice Lucas lined up as a Forward and Center with this jersey number 23 for the New York Knicks (1982) for a season as he registered 14857 points, passed for 2498 assists, hauled down 9306 rebounds, and swatted away 659 shots in his career.

6. Mark Aguirre filled the Forward and Guard positions donning the number on the Detroit Pistons (1989-92) for 4 Pro Basketball seasons as he scored 18458 points, helped out with 2871 assists, found the ball for 4578 rebounds, and blocked 296 opposing teams' shots.

7. Calvin Murphy featured his play at Guard with this jersey identification number of 23 with the San Diego Rockets (1971) and then the Houston Rockets (1972-83) for 12 seasons as he drained 17949 points, handed out 4402 assists, grabbed 2103 rebounds, and blocked 51 opponent's shots.

8. Bill Bridges excelled as a Forward and Center identified by jersey number 23 on the Philadelphia 76ers (1972-73) for two seasons as he scored 11012 points, dished out 2553 assists, crashed the boards for 11054 rebounds, and blocked 36 shots.

9. Lou Hudson was both a Forward and a Guard wearing the number 23 on the St Louis Hawks (1967-68), Atlanta Hawks (1969-77)
   and the Los Angeles Lakers (1978-79) for a total of 11 seasons as he scored 17940 points, dished out 2432 assists, crashed the boards for 3926 rebounds, and blocked 98 shots.

10. Blake Griffin played Power Forward and Center wearing the jersey digits on the Detroit Pistons (2018-21) for four years as he provided 14098 points, created 2930 assists, fought for 5820 rebounds, and blocked 347 shots.

11. Marcus Camby played the position of Center and Forward, wearing the number 23 on the New York Knicks (1999-02 and later in 2013), Denver Nuggets (2003-08), Los Angeles Clippers (2009-10), and the Portland Trail Blazers (2011-12) for 12 years as he provided 9262 points, created 1837 assists, fought for 9513 rebounds, and blocked 2331 shots.

12. Anthony Davis lined up as a Forward and Center with this jersey number for the New Orleans Hornets (2013), and the New Orleans Pelicans (2014-19) for six seasons as he registered 14083 points, passed for 1369 assists, hauled down 6035 rebounds, and swatted away 1377 shots.

13. Lou Williams filled the Guard position donning the number on the Philadelphia 76ers (2006-12), Toronto Raptors (2015), Los Angeles Lakers (2016-17), and the Los Angeles Clippers (2018-21) for 11 Pro Basketball seasons as he scored 15396 points, helped out with 3712 assists, found the ball for 2433 rebounds, and blocked 191 opposing teams' shots in his career.

14. Jason Richardson featured his play at Guard with this jersey identification number 23 with the Golden State Warriors (2002-07), Charlotte Bobcats (2008-09), Phoenix Suns (2009-11), Orlando Magic (2011-12), Philadelphia 76ers (2013 and 2015) for 11 seasons as he drained 14644 points, handed out 2284 assists, grabbed 4245 rebounds, and blocked 367 opponent's shots.

15. Truck Robinson excelled as a Forward and Center identified by jersey number 23 on the New York Knicks (1983) for a single year as he scored 11988 points, dished out 1348 assists, crashed the boards for 7267 rebounds, and blocked 510 shots.

Here is our chart of stats used to determine the list:

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

The picture in the banner above is from the Wikipedia Commons photo collection of the Public Domain of a 1992 shot of Michael Jordan as he appeared in an ESPN advertisement published on El Gráfico magazine.

Special thanks to Basketball-Reference.com and Stathead.com.