LA Lakers vs. Boston Celtics By the (Jersey) Numbers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Larry Bird Wore No. 33 Better?

LA Lakers vs. Boston Celtics By the (Jersey) Numbers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Larry Bird Wore No. 33 Better?

Among the NBA’s most recognizable teams are the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Both teams were dominant in the 1980s, and their rivalry dates back decades. During that decade, the NBA Finals were attended by the Celtics or Lakers each year, and they faced off for the championship three times.

With 17 titles apiece, these teams are the NBA’s most successful squads. We’ll try our hardest to break that tie while having fun. We’ll determine which individual was superior or more significant to their particular squad by comparing the jersey numbers from each team. While it’s entertaining and will suffice for the time being, it’s undoubtedly not a true test on how to break the tie.

We just took the jersey number that the player who wore it the most frequently (Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Gail Goodrich, Antoine Walker, and more) wore the most frequently. In addition, we considered the player’s contributions to his team rather than his overall career. Dominique Wilkins, for instance, only appeared in 77 games while wearing the No. 12 jersey for the Celtics, despite having a Hall of Fame career.

Let’s start by looking at the jersey numbers of players who played for one team and not the other, arranged in numerical order. Even though they won’t matter in our championship tiebreaker, these figures are nonetheless important to note.

No. 29: Lou Tsioropoulos, Bud Olsen, Hank Finkel, and Pervis Ellison were the four players that wore No. 29 for the Celtics; no one has ever worn it for the Lakers.
No. 36: The only two players in the Boston Celtics history to wear this number are Shaquille O’Neal and Marcus Smart.
Dwight Howard (Lakers) at position 39
Aron Baynes (Celtics), No. 46
Mel McCants (Lakers), No. 49
Number 51: Tremont Waters, Charles Claxton, Todd Mundt, Kevinn Pinkney, and Keyon Dooling all wore this number for the Celtics.
No. 56: Sean Williams and Brandon Hunter of the Celtics
Jonathan Gibson (Celtics) at number sixty
Coty Clarke (Celtics), No. 63
Dennis Schroder (Celtics), No. 71
Dennis Rodman (Lakers), No. 73
Sasha Pavlovic and Vincent Poirier (Celtics) at position 77

89: Clyde Lovellette (wearing it during the Lakers’ 1954 season).
Amir Johnson (Celtics) at position 90
P.J. Brown (Celtics), No. 93
Evan Fournier (Celtics) at position 94
Juan Toscano-Anderson (Lakers), no. 95
Brodric Thomas (Celtics), No. 97
Jason Collins (Celtics) is number 98.