1) Chuck Daly, Pistons #2 (for Cade Cunningham in 2021)

There are 13 people who have been honored with a retired NBA jersey primarily or exclusively for their contributions as a head coach. While some skip the jersey number altogether (like Phil Jackson in Chicago) or utilize a nickname (like Flip Saunders’ FLIP in Minnesota), some go with the number of career wins the coach compiled (like Jerry Sloan’s #1,223 in Utah) or the year they won a title (like Jack Ramsay’s #77 in Portland). For Daly, Detroit opted for the #2, to represent the two championships won back-to-back under his tutelage in 1989 and 1990. The Pistons honored Daly as such in 1997 with a ceremony featuring many of his “Bad Boys” era players. When Detroit drafted Cade Cunningham first overall in 2021, the phenom wished to maintain the #2 he had worn at Oklahoma State. Unfortunately, Cunningham couldn’t ask Daly himself, as the coaching legend passed away in 2009 from pancreatic cancer. However, he did receive permission from Daly’s estate, as represented by his daughter, Cydney. A humbled Cunningham stated in his introductory press conference that he planned to “represent the number well,” which he’s done thus far with an excellent rookie season for the Pistons.

2) Billy Cunningham, 76ers #32 (for Charles Barkley in 1991)

When Magic Johnson made his shocking retirement announcement early on in the ’91-’92 season, many of his top rivals and friends debated ways to honor the legend. Barkley wanted to wear Johnson’s #32 for the remainder of the season in tribute but there was a catch: his current team, the 76ers, had retired that jersey in 1976 in honor of former playing and coaching legend Billy Cunningham. Even though Cunningham granted Barkley his blessing to don #32 (citing it as an ample opportunity to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS), it was still a controversial move amongst Sixers fans. It didn’t help that the outspoken and disgruntled Barkley was already on thin ice with the Philly faithful due to his reported trade demands. Thus, this simple gesture of solidarity via jersey number turned into yet another eye of the Barkley hurricane, with fans even claiming the star power forward made the jersey request expecting to be denied, further fueling his trade demands. Undeterred, Barkley first wore #32 in a mid-November game against the Celtics that personified his later years with the Sixers, finishing with 28 points and 11 rebounds in a blowout loss. He continued on with the jersey through the rest of the season and sure enough ended his time with the 76ers as #32, getting traded that summer to Phoenix, where he returned to his customary #34. Interesting footnote: #32 is the most retired jersey number in the NBA, with 11 different franchises having done so.

3) Bobby Jones, 76ers #24 (for Joel Embiid in 2020)

Long after the Charles Barkley-Magic Johnson jersey embroilment, a different 76ers star opted to pay tribute to a Lakers legend, this time with much less controversy. Kobe Bryant’s 2020 passing affected nearly everyone in the NBA community, including Embiid, who grew up in Cameroon idolizing the Lakers superstar. Though his usual jersey number, 21, was chosen by Embiid as an appreciation to one of Kobe’s biggest rivals, Tim Duncan, he wanted to pay homage to Bryant after his tragic death in a helicopter accident. #24 had been previously retired by the Sixers in honor of Jones, who was a two-time All-Star and a member of the ’82-’83 championship team. Jones was also one of the greatest defenders in league history, earning 1st-Team All-Defensive nods 10 times, and his one condition in loaning out his jersey number was that Embiid play strong defense. The Sixers center played just one game as #24 and gave an impressive performance worthy of both Bryant and Jones, finishing with, appropriately, 24 points, plus 10 rebounds in a Philadelphia win over the Warriors. Meanwhile, numerous other players absconded from their usual #8 or #24 jerseys as an “unofficial retirement” in honor of Bryant, including Spencer Dinwiddie, Markieff Morris, Mason Plumlee, and Terrence Ross.

4) Bruce Bowen, Spurs #12 (for LaMarcus Aldridge in 2015)

When a franchise wins five championships in 15 years based on a model of consistency, that creates a lot of players endearing to fans to the level of jersey retirement. Bowen was never a leading scorer, play maker, rebounder, or an All-Star for the Spurs but he was a defensive stalwart on the roster for eight seasons and a key element of three title teams. In 2012, he became the fourth member of a Spurs championship roster to have his jersey retired, when his #12 was raised to the rafters at AT&T Center alongside David Robinson, Sean Elliott, and Avery Johnson. Three years later, San Antonio made a splash in free agency, signing the veteran power forward Aldridge to join Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard in the front court. Aldridge had worn #12 in each of his first eight NBA seasons with the Trail Blazers and asked for Bowen’s permission to continue on with it in San Antonio. Bowen, by then an analyst with ESPN, happily agreed, sensing it as a small opportunity to continue helping the franchise he loved. Aldridge had a terrific first season with the Spurs, earning an All-Star spot and helping San Antonio to 67 wins. But they were upset in the Conference Semifinals by the Thunder and Duncan subsequently retired, signaling an end to the glory days era that encapsulated Bowen’s career. Aldridge continued to wear #12 for the Spurs until 2021, when he was waived and signed with the Nets.

5) “Sixth Man”, Magic #6 (for Patrick Ewing in 2001)

Though the franchise’s history features legendary players Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, Tracy McGrady, and Dwight Howard, plus popular fan favorites like Nick Anderson, J.J. Redick, Darrell Armstrong, and Jameer Nelson, the Orlando Magic have never retired a player’s jersey. They have, however, retired the #6 in honor of their fans, a.k.a., the “sixth man.” The Kings are the only other NBA team to have done this (it’s also been done by the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL for #12) but the Magic hold the further distinction as the one franchise to un-retire the fans’ jersey for a player. When Ewing signed with the Magic in 2001, his customary #33 was already taken by Grant Hill. He instead wanted #6, which he had worn at the 1992 Olympics in honor of his favorite player, Celtics legend Bill Russell (international rules allow jerseys only up to #15). In a fitting epitomization of how silly the retirement was anyway, the Magic happily agreed to let a 39-year-old center on his last legs un-retire a jersey, only to re-retire it a year later when he hung up his sneakers. Two years later, the Knicks retired Ewing’s #33. When the team traded for his son, Patrick, Jr., in 2008, he briefly considered asking for permission to wear #33 but instead opted to honor his father differently by wearing #6.

6) Alvan Adams, Suns #33 (for Grant Hill in 2007)

Interestingly enough, the Patrick Ewing Magic incident wouldn’t be the last time Hill found himself in the middle of a jersey un-retirement controversy. #33 had been his jersey number going back to his days at Duke and he wanted to continue with it in ’07-’08 after signing with the Suns. But for almost two decades that number hadn’t been in use, as it was retired in honor of franchise legend Adams, who was Rookie of the Year for the Suns in ’75-’76 and starting center on that team as it reached the NBA Finals. Adams graciously agreed to allow Hill to (metaphorically) take down the jersey number and use it. Hill, who claimed he would have happily switched to #35 to honor his father’s NFL number, wound up spending five seasons donning #33 for the Suns, then wore that number one more time with the Clippers in ’12-’13 before retiring. The #33 is also unavailable at Hill’s alma mater, as Duke retired it in honor of him in 1994, while he was still an active player. Meanwhile, Hill’s #32, which he wore in honor of his favorite player, Magic Johnson, was retired by his Virginia high school, South Lakes, in 2017.

7) Larry Nance, Sr., Cavaliers #22 (for Larry Nance, Jr. in 2018)

When Larry Nance, Jr. participated in the 2018 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, he donned the #22 Suns jersey of his father, who had won the inaugural event back in 1984 and was later a two-time All-Star for the Cavaliers. Just a few days after that event, the younger Nance got a chance to honor his father’s jersey in a different way, when he was traded from the Lakers to the Cavs. But he was reluctant at first. Nance, Jr. had worn #22 in honor of his father while at Wyoming but switched to #7 when he was drafted by the Lakers, who had retired #22 long ago in deference to Elgin Baylor. When the trade to Cleveland happened, Nance, Jr. couldn’t keep #7 as it had been retired for Bingo Smith, but he was wary of stepping into his father’s #22, which was also hanging from the rafters. The elder Nance insisted, however, pushing his son both publicly and privately to request #22, and lobbying the franchise himself to un-retire it. Nance, Jr. finally relented after a few games, giving up his temporary #24 jersey in favor of his father’s number. Though he has never quite been the All-Star level player that Nance, Sr. was, Nance, Jr. did accomplish something his father never could in reaching the 2018 NBA Finals with the Cavaliers. Larry, Jr. kept #22 in all three seasons he spent with Cleveland, save for one game in January of 2020 when he reverted to #24 for one night in honor of the recently deceased Kobe Bryant (similar to Joel Embiid, as noted above).