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Jersey retirements are not commonly handed out in the NBA. They are deserving for a certain kind of player, coach, fan, broadcaster or announcer who has shown extensive loyalty to their franchise or who has helped deliver a certain level of success.
The Boston Celtics currently have the most jerseys retired with 25 due to their history of championship wins, particularly in the early stages of the NBA. Meanwhile, the late, great Kobe Bryant is the only player to have had two numbers retired by the same franchise after both the No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys were raised to the Staples Center rafters.
However, there are some teams in the NBA who have not yet retired any player's jerseys, which is what we will discuss in this article.
NBA teams that have not retired a jersey
#1 LA Clippers
Despite being a franchise for over 50 years, the LA Clippers are yet to retire one of their player's jerseys. Beginning their life in the league as the Buffalo Braves, the organization then moved to San Diego before settling in LA. They came the closest to the NBA Finals than they have ever done so last season when they reached the Conference Finals for the first time but have yet to win a championship.
That is perhaps the main reason the Clippers have never hoisted a jersey to the rafters. Nevertheless, the ball club have several options, both from their 'Lob City' days and from the 1970s when Bob McAdoo won NBA MVP.
There is, of course, the current roster, too, who were a Kawhi Leonard injury away from possibly making it through to the NBA's championship round. Should Leonard and Paul George lead the team to a first title in the next couple of seasons, they could quite feasibly be the first players to earn a place in LA Clippers history.
From the Clippers' 'Lob City' teams, several candidates could lay claim to becoming the first player to have their number retired. DeAndre Jordan leads the franchise in games played with 750, rebounds and blocks - all of which are unlikely to be broken for a very long time.
His teammates Chris Paul and Blake Griffin also have their merits for helping to turn the organization's fortunes around and make them competitive in the West.
Paul is the franchise leader in assists with 4,023 and has scored the most postseason points of any Clipper player. Griffin, meanwhile, ranks among the top five players of all-time in points, rebounds and assists and sits sixth for games played.
Randy Smith, who played for the team in Buffalo, has the record for most points and most steals and ranks second behind Chris Paul for assists.
#2 Toronto Raptors
Having only been around since 1995, the Toronto Raptors have a far smaller pool of players to choose from. However, they have had significant success over the past decade, winning their first NBA championship in 2019 and frequently finishing inside the top three sides in the Eastern Conference during the regular season.
Therefore, if any player was to have his jersey retired, it would be from these teams.
One such star that stands out is franchise legend Kyle Lowry. In fact, the Raptors have already announced that they plan to retire the point guard's No. 7 jersey when he finishes playing.
In his nine seasons with the team, Lowry became a six-time All-Star and was integral in their title run, scoring 15 points and dishing out 6.6 assists in each playoff game. He is the organization's all-time leader in assists, steals and win share and ranks second overall in points.
Despite being traded before their championship campaign, DeMar DeRozan also has reason to have his jersey retired. He was one of the building blocks on which the Raptors grew over the past decade, having been drafted by them in 2009 and spending nine seasons with the team. He leads the franchise in points and games played.
#3 Memphis Grizzlies
Akin to the LA Clippers, the Memphis Grizzlies have also never won an NBA championship. Therefore, it is unsurprising that they have not retired a jersey until now. However, the team did recently announce that two 'Grit and Grind' era legends, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen, would have their numbers - 50 and 9 - hoisted.
Randolph's No. 50 jersey will be retired on December 11th this season, while Allen's will be put in the rafters on the 28th of January, 2022.
Through the last decade, the Memphis Grizzlies stuck to what they knew - stifling defense and domination of the paint. From 2011 to 2015, the Grizzlies ranked among the top five teams for points allowed and consistently allowed fewer than the league's average.
Randolph averaged 16.8 points and ten rebounds in his eight seasons with the ball club and ranks in the top three players of all-time for points and rebounds. Allen, meanwhile, spent seven years in Memphis and was named in six All-Defensive teams during his time with the Grizzlies. He finished having averaged 1.7 steals per game with the franchise and had five campaigns with a defensive rating lower than 102.
Allen ranks second overall for steals behind Mike Conley, who can also expect to have his number retired in the future, as well as Marc Gasol, who helped complete those 'Grit and Grind' rosters.
Guess the Lakers players!
