The Boston Celtics have retired 22 jersey numbers, including No. 1 for Walter Brown, the team’s founder and first owner, during their illustrious history.
The current two-time defending NBA champions, on the other hand, have retired six jersey numbers to honor standouts from their years as the Philadelphia Warriors (1946-62), San Francisco Warriors (1962-71) and Golden State Warriors (since 1971).
The mighty six:
Wilt Chamberlain – No. 13
Tom Meschery – No. 14
Al Attles – No. 16
Chris Mullin – No. 17
Rick Barry – No. 24
Nate Thurmond – No. 42
In the next 10-20 years, it’s quite possible this list could nearly double in length. The team’s five straight trips to the NBA Finals is an obvious argument for doing so.
As a result, here are five likely candidates to have their jersey numbers retired by the Warriors:
Andre Iguodala – No. 9
Klay Thompson – No. 11
Draymond Green – No. 23
Stephen Curry – No. 30
Kevin Durant – No. 35
Remembering Wilt
Did you know that Chamberlain is the only player in NBA history to have his identical jersey number retired by three franchise (Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers and Warriors)?
The all-time great’s Warriors jersey was retired posthumously in December 1999 (he died that October). Barry, Attles, Meschery and Thurmond attended the festivities. Chamberlain’s sister, Barbara Lewis, was also at Oakland Coliseum that day.
“It’s high time his jersey is up there. I wish it could have been under different circumstances,” Barry said, according to an Associated Press article on the ceremony. “There was never a greater center in the history of the NBA than Wilt Chamberlain. Take a look at the skills it takes to play center and at the statistics, no one has done the things Wilt has done. For anybody to pick anybody other than Wilt, you’d have to be a moron.”
The complete list of retired NBA jersey numbers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Basketball_Association_retired_jersey_numbers
