Next Retired Numbers (Basketball, Part II)

As the NBA wraps up its 2024-25 season with Game 7 between the Thunder and Pacers, it's the perfect time to wrap up my series with the next retired numbers for each franchise.  The NBA's Western Conference was perhaps the most difficult of all.  That's because most of them have already retired the numbers of their most significant players.  So, you'll end up seeing a lot of active players on this list as a result.

Mavericks: 13 Steve Nash-Neither Steve Nash nor Jason Kidd has had his number retired by the Mavericks, so it really could be either one.  I'm going with Nash because he was just as responsible as Dirk for the Mavericks' turnaround from an also-ran into a playoff team.  You could argue that his contributions were bigger in Phoenix (where he was a two-time MVP), but the Suns have already retired his number.  Dallas hasn't.  Yet.

Nuggets: 15 Carmelo Anthony/Nikola Jokic-This is one of those situations where the next retired number should honor two players.  Carmelo Anthony's place in Nuggets history is undisputed.  So is Nikola Jokic's.  There would be no argument against retiring either's number.  But, since their number is the same, that makes it a really easy call.  When Jokic is done, retire it for both of them.

Warriors: 30 Stephen Curry-Is there any doubt about this one?  Steph Curry completely changed the trajectory of the Warriors franchise.  Before he arrived, they hadn't won a championship in 40 years.  With Curry, they became a dynasty.  He's also the best shooter in NBA history and has been the face of the franchise for most of his career.  Steph's jersey retirement ceremony will be scheduled as soon as he hangs it up.

Rockets: 13 James Harden-It's crazy to think that Harden was a role player/sixth man until he went to Houston, where he became a star.  Howard was an All-Star every season he was a Rocket, won three consecutive scoring titles and was the MVP in 2017-18.  I do think he'll need to be elected to the Hall of Fame in order to have his number retired like the other seven Rockets whose numbers are retired.

Clippers: 2 Kawhi Leonard-The Clippers are the only team in the NBA that hasn't retired any numbers.  I'm actually shocked by that because Steve Ballmer strikes me as the type of owner who's definitely a fan first.  It also means he can choose any player in franchise history.  Since the Clippers' history isn't particularly memorable, though, I think a current guy is the most likely candidate.  If they make their first-ever Western Conference Finals appearance in the next few years, that could seal it.

Lakers: 23 LeBron James-Honestly, it would be shocking if LeBron doesn't have his number retired by all three of his teams.  And, believe it or not, he just completed his seventh season with the Lakers.  He became the NBA's all-time leading scorer while wearing a Lakers uniform and led them to their most recent championship (in the bubble in 2020).  Hollywood loves its stars, and LeBron has fit in perfectly.  One of the greatest players in NBA history, one of the most famous franchises in all of sports, it wouldn't make much sense NOT to retire his number, frankly.

Grizzlies: 12 Ja Morant-Pau Gasol's number has been retired by the Lakers, but not the Grizzlies.  Memphis has, however, retired Marc Gasol's number.  The Grizzlies could easily rectify that and have both brothers' numbers retired, but I also get the feeling that if they wanted to retire Pau's, they would have already.  So, I'm going with their current star Ja Morant.

Timberwolves: 21 Kevin Garnett-With all due respect to Anthony Edwards and Ricky Rubio, neither one should have their number retired by the Timberwolves before Kevin Garnett.  Frankly, his number should be retired already.  He spent the majority of his career in Minnesota and was the Timberwolves' franchise player when they won their only division title in 2003-04.  The Timberwolves' only retired number is No. 2 for Malik Sealy, who was killed in a car accident in 2000.  Garnett was Sealy's best friend.  It would only be appropriate for their numbers to hang next to each other in the Target Center rafters.

Pelicans: 3 Chris Paul-That whole thing with the Hornets/Pelicans history is confusing, but, fortunately, they have two players from the New Orleans Era who'd qualify for number retirement.  Chris Paul and Anthony Davis.  It's really a situation where you can take your pick.  I'm going with Paul even though his time with the franchise was shorter because he endured the whole tumultuous New Orleans/Oklahoma City/back to New Orleans thing.  He was their first true star player (and is still going strong at age 40).

Thunder: 35 Kevin Durant-I'm not entirely sure how it works with the Thunder.  Do the Sonics' retired numbers count?  Or are those being held for when/if the NBA returns to Seattle?  Either way, there are enough players who've been with the team since its move to Oklahoma City to qualify.  You could do Russell Westbrook or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but Kevin Durant was the first of those Thunder players and he spent the first nine years of his career with them.  So, as much as he may be persona non grata with the franchise now, he still gets the nod.

Suns: 1 Devin Booker-Phoenix has been pretty good about retiring numbers.  Which means it's probably a safe bet to say an active player will be the next to have the honor.  And it would be shocking if that isn't Devin Booker.  He's the Suns' all-time leading scorer and led them to their first NBA Finals appearance in nearly 30 years in 2021 (then immediately flew to Tokyo and won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA).

Trail Blazers: 11 Arvydas Sabonis-How has Arvydas Sabonis not had his number retired yet?  Sure, he didn't make his debut until he was 30 and only played seven seasons in Portland, but he's just as important for what he represents.  He was one of the first European players to come over to the NBA and find success.  Let's not forget the Blazers were good then, too.  They made the playoffs every year of his career.

Kings: 15 DeMarcus Cousins-Can you name anybody else who's played for Sacramento over the last 20ish years?  Didn't think so!  Things haven't been good for the Kings for a while, although they did win the division title two years ago.  So, because of the simple lack of other options, DeMarcus Cousins is getting the nod.

Spurs: 1 Victor Wembanyama-Everybody from the Spurs' dynasty era who should have his number retired already has.  And, since I'm talking about numbers here, that means Gregg Popovich is out.  Which leaves us with Victor Wembanyama.  I'm not saying he deserves it yet.  Not even close.  I'm saying he's the most likely candidate among Spurs players who haven't yet had their number retired.

Jazz: 27 Rudy Gobert-Unfortunately, the first thing people will think of when Rudy Gobert's career is over will probably be the whole thing with him touching all the microphones before coming down with COVID and causing the 2019-20 season to be suspended.  He's clearly so much more than that, though.  Gobert won three Defensive Player of the Year awards in Utah, and the Jazz won three division titles during that span.