Ranking the 41 NBA Players Who Have Worn the No. 23 Since Michael Jordan Retired—From Least Deserving to LeBron

42.

According to Basketball-Reference, there have been more than 200 professional basketball players who have worn the jersey number 23 in NBA and ABA history. And while it's obvious that not all of them have done it to pay tribute to Michael Jordan—for example, Celtics guard Ernie "Black Jack" Barrett was rocking No. 23 all the way back in 1953, a full decade before MJ was even born—the number has become synonymous with Jordan's greatness in recent years. So even though MJ himself was quick to point out that he doesn't own the No. 23, it's impossible for us to see or hear "23," inside or outside the context of basketball, and not automatically think "Michael Jordan."

Because of this, there were some people out there who weren't happy to hear that LeBron James has decided to start wearing the No. 23 again now that he has returned to Cleveland to play for the Cavaliers. Despite the fact that it's the number that LeBron wore for the first seven years of his NBA career, they don't think LBJ deserves to wear the number that MJ made famous.

When you really think about it, though, who does deserve to wear No. 23 in the post-Michael Jordan era? Probably no one (which is why the NBA should retire it, as LeBron himself once suggested, sooner than later), although that hasn't stopped guys from doing it anyway. So after hearing about LeBron's plans to wear the number again next season—and after seeing adidas start to mass-produce his new Cavs No. 23 jersey, which is already up for sale—we decided to put together a list Ranking the 41 NBA Players Who Have Worn the No. 23 Since Michael Jordan Retired—From Least Deserving to LeBron. Let's see who wore it best.

Written by Chris Yuscavage (@CYuscavage), who grew up a big Michael Jordan fan but, strangely enough, only ever owned one MJ jersey—and it featured the No. 45 on it.

41.Sharrod Ford

Career Stats: 1.3 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.0 assists

Year He Wore No. 23: 2005

"Remember that time when Sharrod Ford…" said no one ever. He played in a grand total of three games in the NBA for the Suns before moving to the D-League and, eventually, taking his game overseas.

40.Ben Hansbrough

Career Stats: 2.0 points, 0.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2012-2013

Hansbrough's brother Tyler went to the University of North Carolina, just like MJ. But that's the one and only time that we'll ever put Ben Hansbrough and one of the greatest Tar Heels of all time in the same sentence.

39.Jeremy Richardson

Career Stats: 1.9 points, 0.6 rebounds, 0.1 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2007-2008

One thing you'll notice as you scroll through this list: There are a lot of former Spurs players, er, Spurs scrubs on it. Is it just a coincidence or does Gregg Popovich give the 13th guy on his bench the No. 23 for his own amusement? Ha. We'll let you decide. But Richardson played so little for San Antonio that there aren't actually any images of him on the court, which is why we had to run a picture of him wearing No. 23 in the D-League here. Trust us, though, he wore No. 23 for all five games that he played with the Spurs.

38.Travis Leslie

Career Stats: 1.4 points, 0.9 rebounds, 0.5 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2011-2012

New rule: If you want to wear No. 23, you have to agree to score at least one basket per game. Is that really too much to ask, guys?!

37.Malcolm Thomas

Career Stats: 1.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.3 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2011-2012

If you want to keep count with us, this is now the second guy from the Spurs on this list.

36.Josh Davis

Career Stats: 2.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.3 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2004-2005

It's hard to pick the most important highlight of Michael Jordan's career. There are so many to choose from. But the same can't be said for this former Wyoming star. He once scored a career-high 19 points for the 76ers in a November 2004 game against the Celtics. But if you don't remember that game, well, you're not alone.

35.Walker Russell Jr.

Career Stats: 3.0 points, 0.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2011-2012

Throughout his career, Russell Jr.—the son of former NBA player Walker Russell—has done some good things for the D-League's Fort Wayne Mad Ants. He's actually spent all or part of five different seasons with the team. But he's never been able to catch on in the NBA for more than a few weeks, despite getting looks from both the Pistons and the Thunder.

34.Eric Dawson

Career Stats: 3.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.0 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2011-2012

Another marginal player who wore No. 23 for the Spurs. This makes three.

33.Allen Crabbe

Career Stats: 2.2 points, 0.6 rebounds, 0.4 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2013-2014

Crabbe's stats don't warrant a spot this high on this list. But because he only has one NBA season under his belt, we'll give the former Pac-12 Player of the Year the benefit of the doubt and say that he won't end up being as mediocre as some of the guys who fall below him. And there's a good chance that he could land a lot higher if we re-do this list at a later date.

32.Toure' Murry

Career Stats: 2.7 points, 0.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2013-2014

It's still too early to tell whether or not the Wichita State product will end up being a bust in the NBA. After all, he did get some run with the Knicks last season and actually played in 51 games for them. But uh, you did see the Knicks' team last season, right? Averaging seven minutes per game for that squad isn't anything to write home about.

31.Stephen Graham

Career Stats: 4.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2007-2010

It's kind of amazing that Graham lasted as long as he did in the NBA. After averaging less than seven points in his junior and senior seasons at Oklahoma State, he went undrafted in the 2005 NBA Draft. But over the next four years, he spent time with the Rockets, Bulls, Cavaliers, Trail Blazers, Pacers, Bobcats, and Nets—even though he never averaged more five points or two rebounds per game. He must have had a great personality or something.

30.Casey Jacobsen

Career Stats: 5.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2002-2008

The former Stanford guard was a beast in the German League towards the end of his playing days. He won two German League Finals MVP awards (2007 and 2010) and had his No. 23 retired by the team Brose Baskets. But his NBA career with the Suns, Hornets, and Grizzlies wasn't nearly as good as his career overseas.

29.Shelden Williams

Career Stats: 4.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2008-2009, 2010-2011

Williams' No. 23 jersey is actually retired at Duke. But the same can't be said for the No. 23 jerseys he wore with the Timberwolves and Nuggets during his NBA career.

28.Austin Daye

Career Stats: 5.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.8 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2013-2014

He's better than some of the other Spurs who have landed on this list. But he's now the fourth benchwarmer from San Antonio that we've seen in the No. 23. We're not the only ones seeing this trend, right?

27.Von Wafer

Career Stats: 5.3 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.7 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2005-2006

His nickname is "The Dutch Cookie." That's almost as cool as "Air Jordan," right? Errrr…

26.Steve Novak

Career Stats: 5.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.3 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2010-2011

At this point, we can safely say that the Spurs will never have to worry about retiring the No. 23.

25.Trenton Hassell

Career Stats: 5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2003-2008

At the beginning of his career, the former Austin Peay forward was actually a starter in the NBA. He was in the starting lineup for 53 games for the Bulls during the 2002-03 season. But his stats were never spectacular and his claim to fame is being a part of the 2008 trade that sent him, Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, Keith Van Horn, $3 million, and draft picks to the Nets in exchange for Jason Kidd, Malik Allen, and Antoine Wright.

24.Al Thornton

Career Stats: 11.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists

Year He Wore No. 23: 2011

What ever happened to this guy? At the beginning of his career, he was a pretty solid young player for the Clippers and actually averaged 16.8 points in his second year with the team. But by the time he signed with the Warriors in 2011—which is when he adopted the No. 23—he struggled to get much PT and averaged a career-low 6.0 points. Not exactly a Jordan-esque number.

23.Devin Brown

Career Stats: 7.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2002-2010

Unlike a lot of the other former Spurs on this list, we get the impression that Brown actually chose to wear the No. 23. It's the same number that the University of Texas at San Antonio retired after he spent four seasons wearing it there. But still, another Spurs player? They need to stop doing this to guys.

22.Alonzo Gee

Career Stats: 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2010-2011

Gee averaged 0.4 points during five games with the Spurs back in 2010. So you already know which number they gave him. It's just too bad he barely got to wear it, which is why we had to run with this photo of him wearing No. 23 for the Spurs' D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros.

21.Byron Mullens

Career Stats: 7.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2009-2011

Mullens ended up with the No. 23 after he discovered that the No. 32 had been retired by Oklahoma City when he joined the team as a rookie in 2009. He didn't mind taking MJ's number, though. "It's Jordan, man," he said at the time. "His number should be retired from the NBA. If it is, then congratulations and good for him. If it's not, then I guess I'll have to stick to it." And that's what he did until he changed his number two years later when he was traded to the Bobcats.

20.Toney Douglas

Career Stats: 7.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2009-2012

When the former Florida State point guard was drafted by the Knicks back in 2009, he let it be known that he wanted the No. 23, which he claimed he had worn since he was 3 year old. "I've had that number my whole life," he said. "Of course I'm going to want that every time out." But curiously, because of the teams he's ended up on, he hasn't been able to wear the number since he left New York.

19.C.J. Watson

Career Stats: 7.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2007-2010

Watson wore the No. 23 during his first few seasons in the league with the Warriors. Then, he got traded to the Bulls in 2010 and, well, the No. 23 wasn't available to him anymore (for obvious reasons). He has since switched his jersey number to 32.

18.Draymond Green

Career Stats: 4.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2012-2014

Green doesn't actually wear No. 23 because of MJ. He wears it in honor of his fellow Michigan State alum Jason Richardson, who also wore the number in both college and the NBA like Green. And he actually started wearing it with the Spartans because his high school number, 32, had been retired by Michigan State after former NBA player Greg Kelser wore it when he played there.

17.Martell Webster

Career Stats: 9.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2009-2010

Webster actually wanted to wear the No. 23 like he did in high school when was drafted by the Trail Blazers in 2006. But Darius Miles had the number at the time, which forced him to take the No. 8. However, when Miles left the team a few years later, Webster finally got his opportunity to wear No. 23. At least, he did until 2010 when he was traded to the Timberwolves and forced to change his number again.

16.Jodie Meeks

Career Stats: 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2009-2010

The former Kentucky guard has transformed himself into one of the better shooters in the NBA and just signed a nice three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Pistons. In other words, he's no slouch. But he probably made the right decision by changing his number after his rookie season with the Bucks.

15.Derek Anderson

Career Stats: 12.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 1998-1999, 2006-2007

Anderson had an NBA career that lasted for more than a decade, and he actually won a title with the Heat in 2006. So he was far from a scrub during his playing days. But unfortunately, he holds the distinction of being the first NBA player to be waived by a team using the "luxury tax amnesty clause," which is a distinction that we're sure he'd rather not have.

14.Anthony Morrow

Career Stats: 10.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists

Year He Wore No. 23: 2013

Although he struggled from 2011 through 2013, Morrow proved that he's one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA last season by sinking more than 45 percent of his threes for the Pelicans. So it's no surprise that the Thunder and Kevin Durant were quick to welcome him to their team this summer. But we should point out that Morrow shot the worst three-point percentage of his career—just 20 percent—during a 20-game stint with the Mavericks in 2013. So maybe he should steer clear of that number in OKC?

13.Ruben Patterson

Career Stats: 10.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2006-2008

The "Kobe Stopper" enjoyed his best NBA years with the Trail Blazers in the No. 21. But after he was traded to the Nuggets in early 2006, he went with the No. 23 instead and later kept the number when he was traded to the Bucks.

12.Darius Miles

Career Stats: 10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2003-2006

If not for injuries, substance abuse issues, and Miles' inability to coexist with some of his teammates and coaches (he was involved in a highly-publicized confrontation with Maurice Cheeks during the 2004-05 NBA season), Miles might be much, much higher on this list. But he fizzled out of the league a short time after he left the Trail Blazers in 2006 and never lived up to his potential—or the expectations that come along with wearing No. 23.

11.Marcus Thornton

Career Stats: 13.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2010-2014

If you look at Thornton's numbers—21.3 points per game during the 2010-11 NBA season, 18.7 points per game the following year, and a respectable 12.3 points per game in 26 games with the Nets last season—you would think that he's been one of the better players of the last five years. But due in large part to the fact that he was stuck on some really bad Kings teams, he's never gotten the respect that he probably deserves.

10.Louis Williams

Career Stats: 11.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2005-2012

Wearing the No. 23 is important to the former 76ers and Hawks point guard. How important? Well, he was traded to the Raptors back on June 30 along with the draft rights to Lucas Nogueira in exchange for John Salmons and a 2015 second-round draft pick. And within 24 hours, he sent out a tweet that said, "Dear @Raptors anybody wearing number 23?"

9.J.R. Smith

Career Stats: 13.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2004-2006

Yup, even J.R. Smith wore the number 23 once upon a time. He also wore it during his brief stint over in China in 2011 and 2012.

8.Quentin Richardson

Career Stats: 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2005-2009

Although Richardson played in the NBA through the 2012-13 season, his last really productive years came when he was playing for the Knicks and wearing the No. 23. It was the last time that he averaged double digits in points.

7.Wesley Matthews

Career Stats: 14.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2009-2010

We imagine that people in Utah do not like the No. 23 after what MJ did to the Jazz back in the late 1990s. Maybe that's why the Jazz let Matthews walk in 2010 after just one season with the team? Eh, doubtful. He's turned into a really solid player over the last four seasons and the Jazz could use him right about now.

6.Kevin Martin

Career Stats: 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2004-2010, 2012-2014

When Martin wore the No. 23 during his rookie season in Sacramento, he looked like a guy who did not deserve to wear it. He averaged just 2.9 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.5 assists that year. But since then, his points per game average has jumped into the double digits every year—during the 2008-09 season, he even averaged a career-high 24.6 points per game—and he's been, arguably, the best player wearing the No. 23 in the league in recent years.

5.Anthony Davis

Career Stats: 17.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2012-2014

If he continues to play the way that he has played during his first couple years in the league, Davis could very well end up near the top of this list at the end of his career. But strangely, he didn't start wearing No. 23 because of MJ. Even though he's a Chicago native, he started wearing it because of LeBron, who was his favorite player when he was growing up.

4.Jason Richardson

Career Stats: 17.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2001-2014

J-Rich has actually been wearing the No. 23 since before MJ retired. And he also wore it back during his Michigan State days. But if the league ever decided to retire it, he has gone on the record and said that he would have no problem wearing a different number. "Getting lots of tweets about changing my number 4 MJ," he wrote on Twitter back in 2009. "Im all 4 it he's the greatest player to ever play. NBA should of retired 23 yrs ago." That hasn't stopped Richardson from continuing to wear it, though, and he's done some pretty great things in it.

3.Ron Artest

Career Stats: 13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2002-2004

We don't really associate Artest (now known as Metta World Peace) with any one number because he's worn so many of them over the years. From the No. 15 to the No. 91 to the No. 37, the former St. John's star has switched jersey numbers almost as often as he's switched teams. But he did spend some time in No. 23 to honor MJ when he was with the Pacers before moving on to his next number.

2.Marcus Camby

Career Stats: 9.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 1998-2013

As you've probably noticed by now, most of the guys on this list spent a short window of time—often just a season or two—wearing the No. 23. But after starting off his career wearing the No. 21 with the Raptors, which was the number he wore in college, Camby started wearing No. 23 after he got traded to the Knicks in 1998 and never looked back. He wore No. 23 for the remainder of his career and, while he was never known for his offensive prowess, he managed to turn himself into one of the best defensive players in the entire league while wearing MJ's number.

1.LeBron James

Career Stats: 27.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists

Years He Wore No. 23: 2003-2010, 2014-?

There's a reason why we decided to rank these players who wore MJ's number after he retired "from least deserving to LeBron." With all due respect to everyone else on the list, no one—and we do mean no one—has come close to repping 23 as well as LeBron has during his career. So when LeBron eventually retires, the NBA is going to have no choice but to retire the number. Because really, who's going to want to wear the same number as Michael and LeBron and take on that responsiblity?

Nobody. Not even the guy at the end of the Spurs' bench who never gets the chance to take off his warmups.