Jersey Numbers and their connection to the Portland Trail Blazers

What’s in a number? Over the 50 plus Portland Trail Blazers seasons, many numbers have been given out to players. It’s exciting to think about which number a player signed, acquired via trade, or drafted will receive.

Have you wondered who has worn what over the years? There are a couple of players who have worn 2 different numbers and yet are the same player. For example, Gary Trent Jr has had both 2 and 9.

Jersey Numbers and their connection to the Portland Trail Blazers

What’s in a number? Over the 50 plus seasons, many numbers have been given out. It’s exciting to wonder which number a player signed, acquired via trade, or drafted will receive.

Here are some of the players who have worn the various numbers over the years and who represented it best.

0-10:

“0” Or, is it “O?”
DAMIAN LILLARD, TAUREAN GREEN, FREDDY JONES, VOSHON LENARD.
The verdict: Do we really have to go there? I think we all know who it is.

“00”
CARMELO ANTHONY, ENES KANTER, KEVIN DUCKWORTH, KEN JOHNSON.
The verdict here: This one could obviously be debated. Have to go with Duckworth. Okay, some could argue Anthony being a future Hall-Of-Famer, but this is only his second season in Portland. “Duck” as you probably remember, was the center that twice helped the Blazers get to the Finals in 90 and 92.

“1” The “lonely” number, as they say. Has it been lonely for the Blazers?
ROD STRICKLAND, IKE DIOGU, ARMON JOHNSON, SHAWNE WILLIAMS, JARED JEFFERIES, DORELL WRIGHT, EVAN TURNER, ANFERNEE SIMONS.
The verdict: Tough one here. It’s a tie. How about we go with both Anderson and Strickland, as they both helped the team in their respected eras of Trail Blazers Basketball.

“2”
LINTON JOHNSON, PERRY YOUNG, MARK BRYANT, STACEY AUGMON, STEVE BLAKE, DAN DICKAU, WESLEY MATTHEWS, BRIAN ROBERTS, WADE BALDWIN IV, GARY TRENT JR.
The verdict: This was a tough one as well, but I have to go with Matthews for all his contributions to the team from 2010-2015. Augmon and Trent came close though.

“3”
HERM GILLIAM, JEFF LAMP, CLIFFORD ROBINSON, DAMON STOUDAMIRE, JUAN DIXON, JEREMY RICHARDSON, GERALD WALLACE, JONNY FLYNN, SASHA PAVLOVIC, CJ MCCOLLUM.
The verdict: It’s a tie between “Uncle Cliffy” and “3J” McCollum.

“4” Do you remember these names?
GREG SMITH, JIM PAXSON, DAVE JOHNSON, MARCUS BROWN, CARLOS ROGERS, ANTONIO HARVEY, EDDIE GILL, MAURICE BAKER, GENO CARLISLE, JOSH MCROBERTS, JERRYD BAYLESS, SEAN MARKS, NOLAN SMITH, ARRON AFFALO, MAURICE HARKLESS, MOSES BROWN, HARRY GILES III.
The verdict: Paxson. Because who are half of these others? And Paxton was the one with the longest tenure in and was twice an All-Star with Portland.

“5”
JIM MCMILLAN, EDDIE JORDAN, JERMAINE O’NEAL, JEFF MCINNIS, DESMOND FERGUSON, HA SEUNG-JIN, IME UDOKE, RUDY FERNANDEZ, RAYMOND FELTON, WILL BARTON, STEVE BLAKE, PAT CONNAUGHTON.
The verdict on “5”. O’Neal. If given more opportunity and playing time, he could have been the All-Star for Portland like he was for Indiana.

“6” It includes someone who some think should be in the Hall-of-Fame
MICHAEL HOLTON, WALTER DAVIS, JOE WOLF, MITCHELL BUTLER, BONZI WELLS, JUWAN HOWARD, ERIC MAYNOR, SHABAZZ NAPIER, NIC STAUSKAS.
The verdict: Drum roll please…Wells. Wells only because he wore this number the longest and averaged more than 15 points in a single season while wearing the black, red and white. Were you able to guess who should be represented in the “Hall”? Even though he wasn’t voted as the best with this number, it’s Walter Davis, who played in 32 the Blazers in 1990.

“7” Should it be retired in honor of one of these names?
HANK MCDOWELL, BROOKE STEPPE, KENNY ANDERSON, CHARLES SMITH, WESLEY PERSON, DAN DICKAU, BRANDON ROY.
The verdict: Do we really have to go there? Of course, it’s Roy.

“8” A tough one to answer.
CHARLES JONES, ENNIS WHATLEY, STEVE SMITH, MARTELL WEBSTER, PATRICK MILLS, LUKE BABBITT, AL-FAROUQ- AMINU, TREVOR ARIZA.
The answer on 8: This was an extremely hard one. How can you make a decision like this with so many good players listed?  I had to turn to my friends Zack Davis and Chris Holmstedt for help. “Smith, as he was much more productive. Less time with the Blazers, but really a key piece,” said Zack. “Smith was the best ‘6th man’ in the game when they snagged him,” Chris said.

“9” A few good ones
LIONEL HOLLINS, DANNY AINGE, RUBEN NEMBHARD, RICK BRUNSON, RAEF LAFRENTZ, ELLIOT WILLIAMS, GERALD HENDERSON, GARY TRENT Jr. NASSIR LITTLE.
The verdict: Can I have the envelope please? Hollins. Five seasons with the Blazers, averaging around 14 points and was a member of the 77 championship team.

Did you know, number 1 is actually retired? It was retired in 1992 in honor of original owner Larry Weinberg. Weinberg gave his permission for players to wear it since.