http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/c...n.1e9edf2.html
Mike Monroe: Jerseys in rafters can leave some befuddled
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
Shaquille O'Neal was seated courtside at the Pepsi Center in Denver after a morning shootaround in 1999, taking off his size-22 shoes and gazing upward at the rafters.
Approached by a couple of reporters, O'Neal was asked if he had a few minutes to answer some questions.
"I'll answer all your questions," O'Neal said, "if you'll answer one question for me."
Assured the reporters would do their best, O'Neal said, "Who's Beck?"
The Big Interrogator pointed to the rafters, from which hung the banners commemorating numbers the Nuggets had retired.
"I know (Alex) English, (David) Thompson and (Dan) Issel," O'Neal said. "But who's Beck?"
Byron Beck was a center from the University of Denver, the first player signed by the Denver franchise when it became one of the original American Basketball Association teams in 1967. He was a solid performer for the ABA's Rockets-Nuggets, a two-time All-Star, but he never averaged more than 14.5 points. He played only one season in the NBA. Nevertheless, he meant a lot to the Denver franchise, which retired his number shortly after he announced his retirement.
Franchises retire numbers for different reasons, not all of them related to basketball achievement. Avery Johnson's No. 6 now hangs from the rafters at the AT&T Center, as much for what Johnson meant to the community as for what he did on the court in his seasons as a key member of the Spurs in the 1990s.
"The Little General" is the club's all-time leader in assists, but his most important assists were to the lives of the people he helped all over San Antonio. The Antioch Sports Center, just off Walters Avenue, is a first-class facility where the Silver Stars and some visiting NBA teams practice. It could also be called "The House that Avery Built," a prime example of how much he meant to his community.
Now in their 35th year, the Spurs have retired six numbers. Their run to four les in nine seasons promises there will be many more. Tim Duncan's No. 21 should rise to the rafters at the home opener of his first season of retirement. So, too, should those of Manu Ginobili (20) and Tony Parker (9). For a team whose period of greatest success was predicated on defense, Bruce Bowen's No. 12 will have to be considered.
Hanging a banner for Gregg Popovich is a no-brainer, except for Popovich's notorious antipathy to personal recognition. Spurs chairman Peter Holt will have to insist on it.
The Spurs' retired numbers all represent significant basketball accomplishment. Other franchises spread the glory. Some have retired fans (Kings and Magic), even broadcasters and PA announcers (Lakers, Sonics and 76ers).
Beck's No. 40 hardly is the most arcane of retired numbers. That distinction forever will be held by the No. 23 Miami retired in 2003. It is that franchise's only retired number, and it honors Michael Jordan, who never played a game for the Heat. Pat Riley orchestrated the ceremony, which preceded a Heat-Wizards game in Jordan's final season, declaring that no Heat player again would wear No. 23 because Jordan was the greatest ever.
Now Alonzo Mourning's career likely is at an end after another serious injury, suffered Wednesday in Atlanta. The Heat should make it clear that his No. 33 will hang next to Jordan's just as soon as Mourning makes it official that he will not attempt another comeback.
Surgeons repaired Mourning's knee joint Thursday. He faces about six months of rehab work and the sobering notion he never will play again. He is 37 and had pretty much determined this season would be his last.
When they wheeled a stretcher onto the court after he crumpled, Mourning waved it off and insisted on walking, with the help of two teammates. If it was to be his last exit from an NBA court, Mourning wanted to make it on his own two feet.
O'Neal's No. 32 certainly will be retired after his playing days end, but by which franchise or franchises?
His eight seasons with the Lakers produced three-straight NBA les, a regular-season MVP award, two NBA Finals MVPs and a feud with Kobe Bryant. The Lakers haven't won a playoff series since they traded him to the Heat.
Clearly, his Lakers jersey No. 34 deserves to hang at the Staples Center next to the retired jerseys of Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the franchise's other great centers.
George Mikan, the NBA's first dominant big man, is part of a banner honoring the Minneapolis Lakers, along with coach John Kundla and teammates Vern Mikkelsen, Slater Martin, Clyde Lovellette and Jim Pollard.
Suffice to say, no player ever will have to ask, "Who's O'Neal?"
I never knew that before. What a silly thing to do.
Ahh...the best way to write an article about Avery Johnson's jersey retirement is to start writing about it and then avoid it all together...by explaining the stupid other franchises do.
no lie...this article starts one direction and then never resolved itself.
Bowen is a no-brainer.
Retiring a number for Pop should be done. I think that the best number to retire will be the number of le won with Pop if it's not 6 (or 9).
They retire #6 for the fans (they are the 6th man).
bad article. it should have been all about AJ and the suck up talked about other franchises we don;t give a about
Heat retiring Jordan's number.
lol
Bruce's number will have to be "Considered"?
you Mike Monroe...
BS. Bruce is just as instrumental in winning the past 3 championships as Tony or Manu.For a team whose period of greatest success was predicated on defense, Bruce Bowen's No. 12 will have to be considered.
factually incorrect article. can anybody figure out the incorrect fact? hint: it's an omission.
Aside from his awesome defense, Bruce is the one who hit the biggest shot of the 2007 playoff run.
Bowen better have his jersey retired, especially just after retiring Avery's.
huh? wtf is this all about?
The Nuggets retired whatever Doug Moe's coaching victories tally was as a number, too.
Exactly what I've been saying. Bowen does a lot in the community too, if it should have to come down to that.
If the Spurs don't retire Bowen's number, it's going to sour me on the franchise forever.
No need for the angst.
Everyone knows retiring Bowen's number is a done deal.
Bowen will get there and #12 will be retired. He has played almost 500 games in a row for the Spurs. He is still a quality player. SA does not have 3 les in 5 years without him. This bunch is very special, and each piece of the puzzle makes the whole thing work.
My wish for his retirement celebration when it comes is to have Ray Allen in the building as well so Bruce could present him with a bronzed tampax.
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