Bucks Numerology

Jim Paschke

Have you ever wondered why players wear a certain number? What significance does it have? How long have they worn it? Does every player wear his preferred number?

There are some fascinating stories when you dig into NBA numerology. This month, we asked each of the Bucks about his favorite digit, or digits, as the case may be. Here is what we learned:

5
Tim Thomas
Tim has always liked low numbers. In high school, he wore number 32. When he got to Villanova, Thomas opted for number 3. In Philadelphia, he wore the even lower number 1 with the Sixers. When Tim came to Milwaukee, he quickly learned that number 1 was retired in honor of Oscar Robertson. Tim wanted to return to number 3 when he was traded to Milwaukee, but veteran Haywoode Workman had the number and Tim didn't want to ask him for it. When Workman left the Bucks, Tim just stayed with number 5.

6
Joel Przybilla
Most Bucks fans know that Joel Przybilla wears number 6 in honor of Hall Of Fame shot blocker and rebounder Bill Russell. Did you know that Joel wore number 50 at The University of Minnesota, because San Antonio's David Robinson was his favorite player? At Monticello, Minnesota High School, Joel says he wore "55" simply because it was the largest jersey the school had.

7
Toni Kukoc
Toni Kukoc has never worn anything but number 7. His favorite athlete was a soccer player named Zungul, who played for Toni's home club in Split, Croatia. Toni admired Zungul and has never had to deviate from his favorite number.

8
Kevin Ollie
Every once in a while, a number has little or no meaning to a player. When I asked Kevin Ollie about the significance of number 8, he said, "None at all. I wanted number 12, which I have worn before, but Marcus Haislip had it when I got here and I just let it go."

10
Sam Cassell
Now this is an interesting story. Sam has worn the number 10 since 1990 at Florida State. When he was recruited, his grandmother made a suggestion. "She was very religious", Sam said. "My grandmother asked me to wear number 10 because of the Ten Commandments".

12
Marcus Haislip
When Marcus Haislip played Little League Baseball as a pitcher, shortstop and second baseman, he was given number 12. As a high school basketball player he was assigned number 24. When Marcus attended The University of Tennessee, he immediately went back to his more comfortable number 12.

15
Ronald Murray
Ronald Murray has worn a few numbers during his basketball career. He started with number 8 in grade school. In high school and college he wore 22. When he was drafted by Milwaukee, Ronald knew that Michael Redd had his number, so he opted for 15. Why? Murray lives at 15th and Duncannon streets in Philadelphia.

17
Anthony Mason
Anthony Mason also ran into a numbers roadblock in Milwaukee. His preferred 14 is Retired, thanks to Jon McGlocklin. Anthony wore 14 because his birthday is December 14th. So the switch to 17 was easy. His mother's birthday is February 17th. In his earlier days, Mason wore number 34, but noticed that it was a very common number in college and the NBA, and wanted something different.

22
Michael Redd
Michael Redd just happened to pick 22 as a grade school player and it has been his ever since. When Michael got to Ohio State, he knew that Jim Jackson had worn 22 there with great success and felt comfortable carrying on the tradition. Don't be surprised if 22 is very close to Michael's scoring average some day.

31
Jamal Sampson
Jamal Sampson could have chosen the NBA number of his uncle Ralph, but he wanted to be a shooter. In the 8th grade, Sampson took a liking to sharpshooter Reggie Miller and selected number 31.

34
Ray Allen
A lot of kids today want to be like Ray Allen, so they ask for number 34. But how did Ray get that double-digit identification? His high school coach told Ray that he had a chance to be special. The high school coach's favorite player was Charles Barkley, so he suggested that Ray wear that number. The rest is history at both The University of Connecticut and with the Bucks.

35
Jason Caffey
Why does Jason wear number 35? "It has no significance whatsoever."

40
Ervin Johnson
Ervin Johnson began his basketball career at the college level with New Orleans. His number just happened. "In college, I just picked it, and it doesn't have any significance," says Johnson. Ervin ran into another number 40 in Seattle, Shawn Kemp, so he wore number 50 there. Then in Denver, Johnson returned to 40 and was able to keep that number in Milwaukee.

50
Dan Gadzuric
Dan Gadzuric, "The Flying Dutchman" selected the number 50 at UCLA. "It's a solid number, and balanced," he says. Simple, straightforward and significant, just like the Bucks rookie.

I thought the numbers added up to some interesting stories, and when they are added together, these numbers collectively make for an interesting team.

Happy New Year, and I'll see you at the Bradley Center.