The Boston Celtics have had players suiting up in a total of 68 different jersey numbers (and have three others not part of any numerical series) since their founding at the dawn of the Basketball Association of America (BAA — the league that would become today’s NBA), worn by well over 500 players in the course of Celtics history.
To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Celtics Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.
With 25 of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Celtics to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover.
And for today’s article, we will continue with the third of 14 people to wear the No. 28, Boston big man alum Jim Barnes. After ending his college career at Texas-El Paso, Barnes was picked up with the first overall selection of the 1964 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks.
The Tuckerman, Arkansas native also played for the (then) Baltimore Bullets (now, Washington Wizards), Los Angeles Lakers, and Chicago Bulls before his contract was sold to Boston in 1968. His stay with the team would span parts of two seasons, coming to an end when he was dealt again, this time to Baltimore again in 1970.
During his time suiting up for the Celtics, Barnes wore only jersey No. 28 and put up 5.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
