As a way to honor key contributors including players, coaches, fans, broadcasters and announcers,

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) teams often

retire Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

their jersey numbers, win totals or microphones. In the case of jersey numbers, they are usually no longer available for future players to wear, although they can ask for permission from players whose jerseys are retired. Teams usually display these numbers by hanging banners on the rafters inside their home arena. As of 2022, only two teams in the NBA do not have any retired numbers: the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

and the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

. Two players have had their numbers retired by teams they did not play for, and only one player (

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most V ...

) had his number retired league-wide.

List

;Key

Honored numbers

Cleveland has introduced in 2019 a Wall of Honor, which honors former players and other personnel. Phoenix has honored some players in the Suns Ring of Honor without retiring their numbers. The Lakers have also honored their most notable players during the stint of the franchise in Minneapolis. Although their numbers are displayed on the banners, only the No. 22 and No. 34 are officially retired, since they were retired for Elgin Baylor and Shaquille O'Neal respectively."Lakers retired numbers"
/ref>

Retired by multiple teams

A handful of players who had notable careers for multiple teams have had their numbers retired by each team. Two players have had their numbers retired by teams they never played for. *

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

had his no. 33 retired by both the Bucks and Lakers. *

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a Center (basketball), center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 yea ...

had his no. 13 retired by the Warriors, 76ers, and Lakers. To date, he is one of only two players to have his jersey retired by 3 different teams, alongside

Pete Maravich Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. Maravich was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and raised in ...

. *

Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association ...

had his no. 22 retired by both the Trail Blazers and Rockets. *

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

had his no. 32 retired by the Nets, and his no. 6 retired by the 76ers. *

Elvin Hayes Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17, 1945), nicknamed "the Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma-mater Houston Cougars. He is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and a ...

had his no. 11 retired by the Wizards. The Rockets announced that his no. 44 will be retired on November 18, 2022. *

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

had his no. 23 retired by both the Bulls and Heat. Jordan is one of two players to have his jersey retired by a team he never played for, alongside

. *

Bob Lanier Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who was a center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted int ...

had his no. 16 retired by both the Pistons and Bucks. *

had his no. 44 retired by the Hawks, while his no. 7 is retired by both the Jazz and Pelicans. Maravich is one of two players to have his jersey retired by 3 different teams, alongside

; he is also one of two players to have his jersey retired by a team he never played for, alongside

. *

Moses Malone Moses Eugene Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A cent ...

has his no. 24 retired by the Rockets, while his no. 2 is retired by the 76ers. *

Earl Monroe Vernon Earl Monroe (born November 21, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for two teams, the Baltimore Bullets and the New York Knicks, during his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Both teams ...

had his no. 15 retired by the Knicks, and his no. 10 by the Wizards. *

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (born June 25, 1966) is a Congolese-American former professional basketball player. Mutombo played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Outside basketball, he has becom ...

had his no. 55 retired by both the Nuggets and Hawks. *

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

had his no. 34 retired by the Lakers, and his no. 32 by the Heat. *

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...

had his no. 14 retired by the Kings, and his no. 1 by the Bucks. *

had his no. 6 retired league-wide, the first and thus far only NBA player to receive the honor. *

Jerry Sloan Gerald Eugene Sloan (March 28, 1942 – May 22, 2020) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before beginning a 30-year coaching career, 23 of which were spent ...

had his no. 4 retired by the Bulls, and no. 1,223 by the Jazz, signifying his total victories as their coach. *

Nate Thurmond Nathaniel Thurmond (July 25, 1941 – July 16, 2016) was an American basketball player who spent the majority of his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Golden State Warriors franchise. He played the center and po ...

had his no. 42 retired by both the Warriors and Cavaliers. *

Lenny Wilkens Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, first in 1989 as ...

had his no. 19 retired by the Sonics, and his name appears in the Cavaliers' Wall of Honor.

Retired in honor of multiple players

The following numbers have been retired in honor of multiple players: * New York Knicks' no. 15 retired for

in 1986 and

Dick McGuire Richard Joseph McGuire (January 26, 1926 – February 3, 2010) was an American professional basketball player and coach. One of the premier guards of the 1950s, McGuire spent 11 seasons in the NBA (1949–60), eight with the New York Knicks and ...

in 1992. * Portland Trail Blazers' no. 30 retired for

Bob Gross Robert Edwin Gross (born August 3, 1953) is an American retired professional basketball player. A 6'6" (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) forward, he attended Seattle University and California State University, Long Beach, and was selected in the ...

and

Terry Porter Terry Porter (born April 8, 1963) is an American former college basketball coach and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was most recently the head men's basketball coach at the University of Portland. A native of Wisc ...

in 2008.

Retired in honor of one player

The following numbers have been retired in honor of one player: *Los Angeles Lakers' nos. 8 and 24 retired for

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

in 2017.

Notes

References

;General * ;Specific {{Retired numbers in sports

Retired numbers Retiring the number of an athlete is an honor a team bestows upon a player, usually after the player has left the team, retires from the sport, or dies, by taking his or her former number out of circulation. Once a number is retired, no future pla ...