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Tony Delk, who has worn number 00 his entire career, could have Hooper, who has also worn number 00 his entire mascot tenure, searching for new digits.
Photo: D. Lippitt/Einstein (NBAE/Getty Images)
As the newest member of the Detroit Pistons, Tony Delk has had a lot of adjustments to make. Delk, though, is used to changes. Entering his eighth different city in the past 10 seasons Delk has had to adjust to new teammates, new offenses and new arenas plenty of times.

However, one thing that hasn’t changed over the years was that 00 that he wears on his uniform. When he signed with the Pistons on March 1, Delk chose the number that has worked for him for most of his playing career.

“00 was the number that my older brother wore in college so I decided to carry on the tradition,” Delk said. “Way back when I first started playing high school ball I took his number. Then, from there, through college and several teams in the NBA, I returned to 00.”

In fact, Delk has worn 00 from his high school days at Haywood High in Tennessee, at Kentucky where he won a National Championship and then on six of his eight NBA teams – Charlotte, Golden State, Sacramento, Phoenix, Atlanta and now Detroit.

So, you’re asking yourself, what happened on the other two squads?

THE PLAYERS
Behind The Numbers
Gilbert Arenas 0, Wizards
Marcus Banks 3, Timberwolves
Mike Bibby 10, Kings
Andrew Bogut 6, Bucks
Kobe Bryant 8, Lakers
Jarron Collins 31, Jazz
Tony Delk 00, Pistons
Melvin Ely 2, Bobcats
Pau Gasol 16, Grizzlies
Manu Ginobli 20, Spurs
Drew Gooden 90, Cavaliers
Grant Hill 33, Magic
Royal Ivey 36, Hawks
Linton Johnson 43, Hornets
Dikembe Mutombo 55, Rockets
Eric Piatkowski 52, Bulls
Paul Pierce 34, Celtics
Shavlik Randolph 42, Sixers
Earl Watson 25, Sonics
In Boston, Robert Parish’s 00 had been retired long before Delk got there and in Dallas…well, Delk doesn’t really know what happened there. Either way he is back with 00 and hopes to keep it that way.

“The number is apart of me now and I would love it if it stayed with me forever. That is the plan at least.”

What Tony didn’t know was that he now shares a number with Pistons mascot Hooper.

“He is going to have to get another number then,” Delk says laughing. “He is at least going to have to be 0.”

When Hooper discovered that Delk will also wear jersey #00, Hooper became frazzled.

"I can understand that Tony wants to be just like me, but I had number #00 first," Hooper said. "I thought about challenging him to an arm-wrestling match for it...but then I remembered he's a lot bigger than me. So, I guess we'll just have to share. Hey Tony, how about you take one zero, and I'll take the other. I'll split it with you 50/50! Although, how do you split nothing?"

Buy Tony Delk Jersey!