Next Retired Numbers (Basketball, Part I)

I've done the next retired numbers for each of the other three sports, but it completely slipped my mind that I hadn't done basketball yet!  So, with the NBA Finals set for a Game 7, I figured now was the perfect time to do it.  As a reminder, some of these are incredibly obvious.  Others not so much.  Others have multiple candidates.  But the whole point was to choose one number for each team for a player (active or retired) who hasn't had the honor yet.  Whether it's realistic or not isn't relevant.  That's not the point of this exercise.

Hawks: 42 Kevin Willis-All five players who've had their numbers retired by the Hawks are in the Hall of Fame, so they may be waiting until Kevin Willis is inducted.  While his case for the Hall of Fame is borderline at best, his place in Hawks history is not.  Willis played his first nine years in Atlanta during a time when the Hawks were really good.  He was a big reason why.  Beyond that, Willis was beloved by the fans.  Sometimes that plays in.  As it should.  Number 42 was also worn by Al Horford in Atlanta, so it could be a joint retirement ceremony for both of them.

Celtics: 20 Ray Allen-A lot of numbers have been retired by the Celtics.  For obvious reasons.  In fact, they have as many retired numbers as the Yankees!  So, they aren't shy about adding numbers to that banner hanging in TD Garden.  Outside of active players, the only seemingly obvious candidate is Ray Allen, who had some of his best seasons during his five years with the Celtics, where he anchored a championship team alongside Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, whose numbers are both already retired.  (Fun fact: 20 is the only number between 14-25 that's not retired and still available in Boston.)

Nets: 11 Brook Lopez-For all the big-name players the Nets have brought in over the past 10 years, it's Brook Lopez who stands out as the most impactful.  He's currently on the Bucks, but spent the first nine seasons of his career with New Jersey/Brooklyn and is the Nets' all-time leading scorer.  Lopez is also their all-time leader in blocks.

Hornets: 15 Kemba Walker-The Hornets are a confusing franchise.  Between the original Hornets, the Bobcats and the current Hornets, they've only retired one number.  No. 13 for Bobby Phills.  Not Larry Johnson.  Not Alonzo Mourning.  Not Muggsy Bogues.  So, there are options.  The one I'm going with, though, is their all-time leading scorer (regardless of iteration or name).  Kemba Walker.

Bulls: 13 Joakim Noah-Derrick Rose's No. 1 will be retired next season, and they have several "honored numbers" in their Ring of Honor.  I'm considering all of those to be retired (even if unofficially) and not counting any of them.  Which leaves me with Joakim Noah.  Is he anywhere near the level of Jordan and Pippen?  Absolutely not.  But, then again, not many players are.  Noah played his first nine years in Chicago and won a Defensive Player of the Year with the Bulls.

Cavaliers: 23 LeBron James-From the Department of "Duh!"  The Cavs will retire LeBron's number approximately two seconds after he retires.  In fact, when he decides to hang it up, I wouldn't be surprised if he signs a one-day contract with Cleveland just so he can retire with them.

Pistons: 33 Grant Hill-Why hasn't Grant Hill's number been retired by the Pistons yet?  Yes, it felt like he played forever and he jumped around at the end.  But the first six years of Grant Hill's career when he was healthy and playing in Detroit, he was one of the best players in the entire freaking league!  Before the ankle injury that changed his entire career, Hill was a five-time All-NBA selection on Pistons teams that weren't very good.

Pacers: 0 Tyrese Haliburton-Indiana has plenty of candidates.  Mark Jackson, Rik Smits, Jermaine O'Neal, Paul George, Ron Artest/Metta World Peace/Whatever He's Calling Himself Right Now.  I'm not sure any of them will have their number retired before Indiana's current star, though.  Especially if the Pacers win Game 7 for their first NBA championship.  Haliburton came in 2022 and has led Indiana to the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals in the last two seasons.  He's only 25, so he'll be their franchise player for the next decade.

Heat: 6 LeBron James-As we all know, the first time LeBron left Cleveland, he "took his talents to South Beach."  In his four years with the Heat, Miami went to the Finals every season and won a pair of championships.  And the No. 6 he wore in Miami has been retired league-wide for Bill Russell anyway, so he's already the last Heat player ever to wear the number.  Don't be surprised if LeBron has his number retired by all three of his teams.

Bucks: 34 Giannis Antetokounmpo-There's no doubt that Giannis has already done enough to warrant having his number retired by the Bucks when his career is over.  Especially if he stays in Milwaukee.  As it is, he's probably going down as perhaps the third-best player ever to wear a Bucks uniform, behind only Oscar Robertson and Kareem.  Two-time MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, led the team to its first title in 30 years, and there's likely still more to be added before he's done.

Knicks: 7 Carmelo Anthony-Every player whose number has been retired by the Knicks is in the Hall of Fame.  Melo will check that box this year.  During his seven-year tenure, the Knicks only won one playoff series.  But that was one more than they had since Ewing left and one more than they would until they actually became good again a few years ago.  Melo was a superstar playing on some bad teams.

Magic: 12 Dwight Howard-Shaq's number 32 is the only one that has been retired in Orlando.  He isn't the only dominant center who they've drafted No. 1 overall, though.  Howard won three straight Defensive Player of the Years and led the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals.  He's also the franchise's all-time leader in points, rebounds and blocks.  It didn't end great, but, based on the numbers and what he meant to the franchise, Dwight Howard's number should join Shaq's in the rafters.

76ers: 21 Joel Embiid-Philadelphia drafted Embiid during that period known as "the Process" when they were tanking to build for the future.  The plan was to build around him.  So far, it's working.  He's a two-time NBA scoring champion and has won an MVP.  Of course, it hasn't led to a championship yet, but it has resulted in seven consecutive playoff appearances, so building around Embiid sure seems like it was a good call!

Raptors: 7 Kyle Lowry-Vince Carter was the first, and so far, only, Raptor to have his number retired.  And rightfully so for all he's meant to the franchise.  As for who should be next, it's really a toss-up between Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.  I'm going with Lowry for his six consecutive All-Star selections and the role he played in Toronto winning its first championship in 2019.

Wizards: 2 John Wall-Gilbert Arenas is far too controversial, so he's out.  Michael Jordan would be for the name rather than for what he did with the franchise.  You could make an argument for Bernard King.  You can make a better argument for John Wall, who they took No. 1 overall in 2010, spent a decade in Washington, and is the Wizards' all-time leader in both assists and steals.