Choosing your jersey number is one of a player’s most cherished privileges when he gets to a team.
There have been times when someone’s bought a player out of his current jersey to sport a number. There are stories of superstitions, heroes, and sometimes a rookie just gets what he or she gets. Most have a story.
Here are some of them:
Glenn Robinson III, No. 22 in 2018
Glenn Robinson III’s explanation, via The Athletic:
“My daughter was born March 22. When I was a rookie (with the Minnesota Timberwolves), I picked No. 22 but then Andrew Wiggins arrived after the trade and he took No. 22. I decided to take No. 40 because that was where I got drafted. I was going to get No. 40 when I got to Detroit but it was Bill Laimbeer’s number and it’s retired. All of the other numbers I had previously — 21, 15 — all of those are retired in Detroit. Really, No. 22 was the only number available. It’s just crazy how things work.”
Dansby Swanson, No. 7
For Dansby Swanson, he wasn’t married to the No. 7 until he got to Vanderbilt University. Then it became his identity.
When Swanson hit the free agency market in 2022, Yan Gomes reached out to him saying if he signed with the Chicago Cubs, the number was his.
Well, Swanson is sporting No. 7 after signing a seven-year, $177 million contract that December.
Jameson Williams, No. 18
In 2022, then-rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams told ESPN there were a couple of meanings behind his number selection.
With a nod to Calvin Johnson’s No. 81, he flipped the numbers, and his idol, Randy Moss, wore No. 18 during his Oakland Raiders stints in 2005 and ’06.
Peyton Manning, No. 18
The Manning family name is illustrious in the football world, and the No. 18 is attached to that.
Peyton Manning sported the No. 18 throughout his career, and it started in honor of his father, Archie, who wore the number at Ole Miss. His brother, Cooper, wore the number in high school. Both the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos have retired the No. 18 in his honor.
Marcus Stroman, 0
Sporting the No. 0 is unique for sure, so the way that pitcher Marcus Stroman described why he wore it so eloquently was great.
He told Marquee Sports Network in 2022:
“I like 0 because of the shape,” Stroman said. “The fluidness of it, how even it is. More things of that. More of those symbols that a circle represents rather than necessarily the number. I’ve always been a single-digit pitcher, or single-digit player my whole life.
“There’s so many different things when you really dive into the meaning of a circle or it being synonymous, it being continuous, like there’s no end point. There’s so many things there that are deeper. Definitely for more of the shape and what the circle means than the actual number.”
Alec Martinez, 25
Sometimes they keep it simple.
Alec Martinez of the Chicago Blackhawks is still searching for the meaning, as he told The Athletic in October.
“27 and 23 weren’t available,” he said. “I’ve worn 23, 27. 25 was available. It’s somewhere in between. Hopefully the birth year of my first child. Beyond that, I don’t really put much thought into all that.”
