Los Angeles Lakers big man Deandre Ayton is temporarily adopting a new look. After leaving Tuesday’s contest due to an eye poke, Ayton posted a photo on Instagram in which he’s wearing a patch over his eye.
On the photo, Ayton added a pirate emoji, poking fun at his appearance.
He was far from the only member of the Lakers to make that comparison. After the contest, Lakers head coach JJ Redick said Ayton looked “like a pirate” after leaving the contest just before halftime.
Ayton did not play the entire third quarter due to the injury. Before the fourth quarter was over, the Lakers announced he would miss the rest of the contest. He finished with four points and eight rebounds in roughly 15 minutes during the Lakers’ 115-107 win over the Denver Nuggets.
While Redick said Ayton’s eye was “not in good shape” after the game, the team doesn’t expect Ayton to miss time. Redick added that the center “will be fine” ahead of Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Even if Ayton needs to miss that game, it doesn’t sound like the eye injury will keep him sidelined for long.
After spending the last two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, Ayton joined the Lakers on a two-year deal in the offseason. He’s put up his usual numbers through 37 games with the team, averaging 13.9 points and 8.8 rebounds.
General manager Mike Dunleavy was on hand Tuesday night to address the Warriors’ short- and long-term plans ahead of Golden State’s home game against the Toronto Raptors.
He was asked about Butler’s future with the franchise as well as that of disgruntled forward Jonathan Kuminga, who’s been languishing on the bench amid poor play and a trade demand. And … let’s just say that he has divergent thoughts on Butler’s and Kuminga’s value on the basketball court.
Dunleavy not ready to tear things down
With Butler’s injury prompting chatter of a full teardown and the end of the era of competitive basketball with Curry, Dunleavy was asked about the prospect of trading away Butler’s contract, which has one year and $56.8 million remaining beyond this season.
Dunleavy said that he’s not entertaining the idea.
“I don’t envision that,” Dunleavy said. “But now that you’ve brought it up, I guess I’d say what I envision for him is kind of giving us a boost next year the same way he did last year when he arrived.
“And so, at some point during the season, him returning and being the player he’s been.”
Mike Dunleavy said he does not envision he will trade Jimmy Butler’s contract and believes Butler will rehab and return to help the team at some point next season pic.twitter.com/FjU1xzDnb6
That sounds like a man not ready to wave the white flag on the Curry era. It also sounds like the words of an optimist. Butler will be 37 next season and coming off one of the most serious injuries in sports.
Can Butler return to high-level basketball after ACL tear?
Butler’s been a boon for the Warriors and helped spark a run to the second round of the playoffs last season after arriving via a midseason trade. The Warriors made the playoffs as the No. 7 seed out of the play-in, then upset the No. 2 seed Rockets in the first round before falling to the Timberwolves in the second.
Butler’s arrival was a big reason for that success, and he was playing at an All-Star level this season (20 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.4 spg) before tearing his right ACL Monday night. If anyone’s capable of returning from an ACL tear to play at a high level at 37 years old, Butler’s the type of player to do it. And for now, at least, Dunleavy appears to be holding out hope that that’s how things play out.
The alternative is not an appealing option and one that could mean dealing Curry while he still has trade value. They are not ready for that in Golden State.
What about Kuminga?
As for the short-term, Butler’s minutes just opened up, and they need to be filled. That could mean the end of Kuminga’s relegation to the bench. Head coach Steve Kerr opened the door to that possibility, telling reporters that Kuminga “could be” part of the rotation in Butler’s absence.
That would require a willingness on both sides to thaw an icy relationship. Dunleavy doesn’t sound eager to extend an olive branch. When asked about Kuminga’s trade demand, Dunleavy suggested that Kuminga might not drum up much demand for his services.
“As far as the demand, I’m aware of that. In terms of demands, when you make a demand, there needs to be demand — on the market.”
Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. with a candid quote on Jonathan Kuminga’s trade demand. pic.twitter.com/7iNoKxpd2z
“I think as far as the demand — I’m aware of that,” Dunleavy said. “I think in terms of demands, when you make a demand, there needs to be demand on the market. So, we’ll see where that unfolds.
The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 5. The Warriors have a lot to figure out before then.
The Mets struck a deal to acquire the center fielder on Tuesday, the team announced, finally pulling off a move they were reportedly interested in making at the trade deadline months ago. In exchange, the Chicago White Sox will receive infielder Luisangel Acuña and right-handed pitching prospect Truman Pauley.
Robert just finished his sixth season with the White Sox. He recorded a .223 batting average with 14 home runs and 53 RBI in 2025, though he missed time late in the season due to a hamstring injury. Robert was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger during the 2023 campaign.
While he has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, Robert has shown star ability as a hitter and fielder at his peak. He’s also coming off a season in which he put up a career-high 33 stolen bases. The White Sox picked up Robert’s $20 million option for the 2026 season, and he has another $20 million option with a $2 million buyout for the 2027 season.
Acuña held a .234 batting average with eight RBIs in 95 games last season as a rookie. Pauley spent time with the Mets’ minor-league teams last year after the team drafted him in the 12th round out of Harvard. The 22-year-old has yet to make his big-league debut.
The White Sox went 60-102 last season, which marked their third straight year losing at least 100 games. They had the worst record in modern MLB history during the 2024 campaign, going 41-121.
The move to bring in Robert is one of several the Mets have made in recent days. Most notably, they reached a three-year, $126 million deal with former Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette. The team went 83-79 last season and missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons despite some aggressive acquisition of talent in recent years.
Robert represents the latest addition for a Mets franchise that hasn’t shied away from spending big under owner Steven Cohen.
Naturally, Dave Dombrowski wasn’t too happy to see Bo Bichette land with the New York Mets last week.
That, the Philadelphia Phillies president said on Tuesday, felt like “a gut punch.”
“You feel it. That day you are very upset, I guess is the way to say it,” Dombrowski said, via the Associated Press. “You have to pick yourself up and shake it off. You can’t just wallow in what took place.”
Bichette agreed to a three-year, $126 million deal with the Mets on Friday. The two-time All-Star shortstop is expected to play third base for New York after spending his entire career to this point with the Toronto Blue Jays. That culminated with a run to the World Series last fall, in which they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While he ended up in New York, the Phillies felt they were “very close” to landing Bichette. They had a meeting with him early last week and were working to prepare a long-term deal.
It’s unclear how close the two sides actually were or if a verbal agreement was reached. But Dombrowski said the Phillies were at the numbers that Bichette’s team had asked them to match.
“I can’t say that we ever thought it was done,” Dombrowski said. “There’s a difference. We thought we were very close to having a deal done. We thought it was going to happen. But it wasn’t done.”
Bichette matched his career high at the plate with a .311 batting average last season, something he first put up in his rookie campaign in 2019. He had 18 home runs and 94 RBI, too. He missed time in September and the playoffs due to a knee injury, however.
While the Phillies missed out on landing Bichette, the team is bringing back the core of the team that made it to the NLDS last season. They re-signed catcher J.T. Realmuto to a three-year, $45 million deal. Considering the team won 96 games and the NL East title last season, they can still feel pretty good heading into spring training.
“I think we’re content where we are at this point,” Dombrowski said.
While the electees understandably headline the annual Hall announcement, much can be learned about the rest of the ballot, too, as trends involving other candidates can help us forecast the next wave of Hall of Famers. With that in mind, here’s a look at five notable candidates on this year’s ballot, featuring four holdovers making intriguing gains toward election and one newcomer whose solid debut suggests he could reach the required 75% of voter approval to become Cooperstown-bound one day.
Chase Utley: 59.1% of the vote, third year
Voting history:
First year: 28.8%
Second year: 39.8%
Third year: 59.1%
An integral member of the fantastic late-2000s Phillies clubs, Utley has a lot of impressive modern statistical markers rather than gaudy traditional counting stats. With 1,885 career hits, he’s making a push to be one of the rare position players inducted into Cooperstown with fewer than 2,000 career hits. His 259 career home runs stand out relative to his positional peers but pale in comparison to the offensive résumés of the two second basemen most recently elected: Craig Biggio, a member of the 3,000-hit club, and Kent, whose 377 homers are the most ever at the position.
But Utley’s case is rooted in his all-around impact — a balanced offensive profile, a terrific glove at an up-the-middle position, impactful and ultra-efficient baserunning — which manifested in significant WAR totals during his peak that reflected his status as one of the best players in baseball. From 2005 to 2010, Utley ranked second in MLB in fWAR behind only Albert Pujols, a remarkable testament to his star-level performance that might’ve been somewhat overlooked because Utley never finished higher than seventh in MVP voting during that six-season span, while teammates Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins claimed the award in ‘06 and ‘07. Utley also never won a Gold Glove Award, but defensive metrics rated him exceptionally well, providing a serious boost to his WAR and bolstering his case as voters consider his candidacy through a more sabermetric lens.
Utley has made steady progress toward induction; he debuted at 28.8% two years ago and has more than doubled that mark two years later. He’s not quite on the doorstep, but anyone who reaches the 50% threshold is a near-certainty to get elected eventually, which means Utley is officially within striking distance of election, perhaps in the next two or three years.
Félix Hernández: 46.1% of the vote, second year
Voting history:
First year: 20.6%
Second year: 46.1%
It’s all about the peak for King Felix, who earned staff ace status with the Seattle Mariners at an astonishingly early age — he debuted as a 19-year-old in 2005 — and dominated in his early- and-mid-20s before his stuff and effectiveness plummeted as he entered his 30s. That Hernández is on the ballot already is a sobering reminder of just how abruptly his career ended, as he was just 33 when he pitched his final season with Seattle in 2019. At his best, however, even on Mariners teams that were rarely relevant on a national scale, Hernández transcended his surroundings and became a captivating force whenever he took the mound, and his statistical résumé during his spectacular, seven-year peak unquestionably resembles that of a Hall of Famer.
Because such a huge portion of Hall of Fame hurlers aged far more gracefully, Hernández’s case to be included in Cooperstown contends that he was so good in his 20s — and pitched so much during that time — that he amassed a Hall of Fame-worthy résumé before the fall-off occurred, and thus should not be kept out because of how ugly the ending ultimately was. A similar case was made about the offense of Andruw Jones, a player who delivered all-time production in his 20s before fading quickly as he aged, and he found his way to Cooperstown after a lengthy stint on the ballot.
This year, Hernández took a gigantic step forward, an emphatic demonstration that the cliff his career fell off isn’t nearly the demerit many thought it could be when he first appeared on the ballot. Any hesitation among the electorate seems to have already started to dissipate, as Hernández’s overwhelming brilliance at his best was deemed worthy enough to have the box next to his name checked on nearly half the ballots. We’re still in the early stages of understanding how the Hall electorate will handle this era of starting pitchers, considering their workloads were so much less than that of previous generations, but at the very least, consider Hernández’s encouraging trend a compelling mark in favor of any Hall case rooted in peak performance over longevity.
Chase Utley, Félix Hernández and Andy Pettitte received some of the biggest jumps in support on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot.
Davis Long/Yahoo Sports
Andy Pettitte: 48.5% of the vote, eighth year
Voting history:
First year: 9.9%
Second year: 11.3%
Third year: 13.7%
Fourth year: 10.7%
Fifth year: 17%
Sixth year: 13.5%
Seventh year: 27.9%
Eighth year: 48.5%
The pitcher with more postseason frames than any other in the game’s history, Pettitte offers a drastically different kind of candidacy than Hernández. Anyone who scoffs at Pettitte’s 3.81 postseason ERA is severely underselling how absurd it is to post such a solid mark across what was more than an entire regular-season workload of October innings: 276 ⅔, to be exact. For Pettitte to be that dependable in the highest-stakes games at so many stages of his career speaks to his rare aptitude as a pitcher, and while he certainly benefitted from playing for so many great Yankees teams, he generally made the most of those opportunities. His regular-season résumé doesn’t jump off the page nearly as much, with only three All-Star appearances and a handful of lofty placements on Cy Young ballots scattered across his 18-year career. But Pettitte was really good for a really long time, and it’s not uncommon for that to be rewarded with a spot in Cooperstown.
Pettitte’s case is also complicated by off-the-field considerations. Connections to performance-enhancing drugs — alleged or confirmed via positive tests and suspensions — have been an enormous part of Hall of Fame discourse for years now, but Pettitte occupies a unique position in that arena. He admitted to using HGH at specific intervals during his career, explaining that he sought out such measures only to help his return from injury, not in search of an advantage. Regardless of how Pettitte’s public remorse has been received, his relative lack of progress across his first seven years on the ballot suggested his admitted use was likely being held against him to a certain degree. Then again, his case was never a slam dunk like a Barry Bonds or a Roger Clemens would be sans PED suspicion, which made it hard to assess the degree to which Pettitte’s candidacy was hampered by statistical shortcomings vs. admitted PED use.
For the most part, players connected to PEDs have received a certain amount of support and then ended up stuck in that range for the duration of their time on the ballot. That was true for Bonds and Clemens, and even more recently with Manny Ramírez. Pettitte seemed to be tracking in a similar manner his first five years on the ballot, but he has suddenly broken the mold and surged up the ranks of vote-getters, making him one of the more fascinating candidates to monitor over the next two years. He has a lot of ground to make up to get to 75%, so election via the writers’ ballot still feels unlikely, but the fact that we’re having the conversation about his chances is a fairly shocking development.
Cole Hamels: 23.8% of the vote, first year
Hamels represents another important test case for how the electorate will evaluate modern starting pitchers, who had no chance of reaching some of the benchmarks long associated with Hall of Fame starters but might deserve election on the basis of their performance relative to the peers of their era. It’s also worth wondering how discourse surrounding Hamels could impact some of the other starters who have already been on the ballot with comparable résumés, such as Mark Buehrle. Hamels’ case is a scaled-down and more recent version of Pettitte in some regards, as a reliable and durable left-hander whose effectiveness in the regular season over an extended period of time helps compensate for a relative lack of high-end accolades (four All-Star games, four lower-level Cy Young finishes). Also like Pettitte, Hamels has some postseason heroics working in his favor, with a solid October résumé highlighted by his contributions to the Phillies’ 2008 championship run, when he won NLCS MVP and World Series MVP.
Hamels (3.43 ERA across 2,698 innings pitched) and Hernández (3.42 ERA across 2,729 ⅔ innings pitched) also ended up with staggeringly similar career stat lines and workloads, despite taking hugely different paths to get there and offering entirely disparate aesthetics on the mound. That Hamels debuted on the ballot at a similar tally to what Hernández received a year ago speaks to how their candidacies will surely be contrasted in the coming years. He has plenty of work to do, but perhaps another sizable jump is in store for Hamels in the near future.
Bobby Abreu: 30.8% of the vote, seventh year
Voting history:
First year: 5.5%
Second year: 8.7%
Third year: 8.6%
Fourth year: 15.4%
Fifth year: 14.8%
Sixth year: 19.5%
Seventh year: 30.8%
A two-time All-Star who never finished higher than 12th in MVP voting, Abreu’s case suffers severely from the abstract Cooperstown litmus test of asking, “Did this player feel like a Hall of Famer when he was playing?” While most observers would say no regarding Abreu, it’s impossible to deny that his statistical achievements across nearly two decades in the big leagues are absolutely worth serious consideration. Abreu was a consistent source of power and speed throughout his career, and his sizable final totals reflect that: He is one of four players in baseball history with at least 250 home runs, 500 doubles and 400 stolen bases, along with Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson and Craig Biggio. Abreu’s tremendous on-base skills also stand out historically, especially combined with his longevity: Of the 87 players to log at least 10,000 plate appearances in MLB, Abreu’s .395 on-base percentage ranks 16th, behind 14 Hall of Famers and Bonds. That’s pretty good!
Yet Abreu’s dearth of traditional accolades or signature postseason moments, having played mostly for mediocre teams, has obscured the totality of his on-field success. It’s one of the more confounding Hall of Fame cases we’ve seen because of how resounding it looks on paper — and how that contrasts with what his career elicited at the time.
While this year marked the most dramatic gains Abreu has made on the ballot, it doesn’t leave him much room for error. Another serious leap will have to happen next year for induction to seem likely before his 10 years on the ballot expire. At the same time, it’s noteworthy that we are even still pondering his case, considering how close he was to failing to garner the requisite 5% of the vote early in the process. Had Abreu received 19 votes in his first year on the ballot instead of 22, he’d have joined the likes of Kenny Lofton and Carlos Delgado (among others), who fell off the ballot on their first try despite some astounding collections of counting stats.
Abreu, meanwhile, survived the first round of cuts and has made just enough progress since then to be discussed in the annual round of Hall debates. Just as Lofton and Delgado might earn induction one day via the veteran’s committee, that might be Abreu’s most likely path to Cooperstown, considering how much ground he still needs to make up. But let’s not count him out just yet.
Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones got their calls Tuesday after both eclipsed the 75% threshold required from a ballot of Baseball Writers’ Association of America voters. As expected, it was an emotional day for both.
Beltrán shared the moment he got the call from Cooperstown as he was surrounded by friends and family. BBWAA member Jack O’Connell informed Beltrán of his election on speaker phone, prompting a celebratory roar from Beltrán’s supporters.
Jones, apparently, wasn’t informed of his election via a call from the Hall — not initially, at least. He appeared to learn the good news alongside the rest of the viewers on MLB Network, which broke the news.
He did so while surrounded by fellow former big leaguers at a golf tournament in the Dominican Republic.
Both players were on the receiving end of congratulations from their former teams and teammates. Braves chairman Terry McGuirk released a statement lauding Jones as “one of the most dominant centerfielders of his generation.”
Chipper Jones on Andruw Jones: ‘Nobody did it better’
Jones’ former teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Chipper Jones agrees and declared Jones the best defensive outfielder of all time. He doesn’t understand why it took Jones nine ballots to get his call.
Chipper Jones on Andruw Jones and his Hall of Fame worthiness.
“This guy was the best guy to ever do it out there. In my opinion it’s not arguable. Nobody did it better.” pic.twitter.com/BwXGuUaffk
“This guy was the best guy to ever do it out there,” Chipper said. “You could say arguably. In my opinion it’s not arguably. He’s the best that’s ever done it.
“To boot, 400 homers and 1,300 RBI. That’s not nothing. Maybe Willie [Mays]. Maybe peak [Ken] Griffey [Jr.], you know, for a period of time. But nobody did it better, nobody did it better out there.”
Beltrán’s former teammates weigh in
Beltrán’s former Houston Astros teammate, Jeff Kent, was elected to the Hall in December via a vote of the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. He’ll join Beltrán and Jones in the 2026 induction ceremony. Kent issued a message congratulating Beltrán on his election.
“I want to send my congratulations on being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame class,” Kent wrote. “I’m proud of you. I know your family is proud of you, and I can’t wait until you and I meet up again in Cooperstown where we’ll be inducted into the most prestigious class in all of sports — the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“Good luck my brother. I look forward to seeing you in July.”
Beltrán’s former teammate with the New York Mets, David Wright, also sent his regards in a statement.
“What an amazing accomplishment and well deserved,” Wright wrote. “… When I think of five-tool players, you are one of first faces that come to mind. And to top it off with your work ethic.
“I was able to witness firsthand your dedication and willingness to improve even though you were at the top of your game. Thank you for those lessons that stuck with me my entire career.”
Teams celebrate their former players
Beltrán and Jones each played for the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. Both teams issued their congratulations to their former players on Tuesday.
Statements from Steve and Alex Cohen, David Stearns, Carlos Mendoza, and Francisco Lindor on Carlos Beltrán getting into the Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/783azbmw5Q
The #SFGiants congratulate Carlos Beltrán on his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Carlos’ excellence as a switch-hitter, defender and leader over an outstanding career earned him a place among baseball’s all-time greats. We join the baseball community in… pic.twitter.com/gCFcqbGpnw
The Toronto Blue Jays have had an explosive offseason, albeit with some setbacks. They whiffed on Kyle Tucker and lost their World Series hero, Bo Bichette, to the New York Mets.
They need one last move to make sure this offseason is a definitive success. According to Fansided’s Zachary Rotman, that move would be signing former MVP and All-Star Cody Bellinger.
“Now we’ve reached the favorites among the sleeper teams. The Toronto Blue Jays were in the thick of the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes but fell short. Now that they whiffed on re-signing Bo Bichette as well, a logical pivot would be Bellinger, right? No, the Jays haven’t really been linked to Bellinger, but the fit makes too much sense. Toronto has room in its outfield for another bat, and Bellinger, an athletic outfielder who plays tremendous defense in the corners, hits both lefties and righties well, has power and doesn’t strike out, fits right into the mold of the kinds of players they like,” Rotman wrote.
This past season, Bellinger slashed .272/.334/.480/.813 with 25 doubles, 29 home runs, and 98 RBI in 152 games played. He would take the open spot in the outfield, and pairing him with Daulton Varsho and George Springer could give the Jays one of the better outfields in the MLB.
Bellinger is projected to receive a six-year, $182 million deal. They were going to give Tucker a decade-long deal, so what’s to stop them from offering a five-to-six-year-long deal for a guy who’s almost as good, and just a bit older?
Hopefully, the Blue Jays make their last move and get Bellinger to finish off a legendary offseason, despite the setbacks.
Dana White has put a hard halt on the Conor McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal talks.
This past week, after White shut down the idea of McGregor vs. Michael Chandler for the UFC’s planned event at the White House in June, rumors of Masvidal taking on the Irish superstar began circling around social media. These talks were furthered by Masvidal hinting at “something big” being in the works for his return in a recent interview with MMA Junkie.
Well, it’s not that the fight won’t happen, but for now at least, there is no truth to these rumors, at least according to White.
“I don’t listen to any of the goofy sh*t that goes on,” White told TMZ when asked about the online rumors of McGregor-Masvidal. “No, that’s goofy sh*t. The MMA world, I don’t listen to any of that. Literally, none of that is in my algorithm. Some people say, ‘Oh, did you hear?’ No. Almost everything you see on the internet about our sport is wrong. It’s all wrong.”
As of now, White says there’s nothing booked or in the works for the event – which is scheduled to go down on June 14 on the South Lawn of the White House. However, following Saturday’s UFC 324 – the first UFC event of 2026 – the matchmakers and White will get together to start putting the event together.
“My head of production, Craig Borsari, has been to the White House five times, I think, so he’s doing all the logistic stuff and figuring out the production,” White said. “… Usually every Tuesday, we have a matchmaking meeting, (but) Monday we will be matchmaking. We will be matchmaking Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. We’ll be building that card as soon as (UFC 324) is done.”
“I said I wouldn’t touch this card until February. Now I think we’ll have it dialed in by the second week of February. We’ll have everything dialed in.”
The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the “New Jersey Americans”.
Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today.
To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise’s jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.
And for today’s article, we will continue with the eighth of 14 people to wear the No. 40 jersey, big man alum Jim Fox. After ending his college career at South Carolina, Fox was picked up with the 70th overall selection (there were many more rounds in that era of the draft) of the 1965 NBA Draft by the (then) Cincinnati Royals (now, Sacramento Kings).
The Atlanta, Georgia native played the first two seasons of his pro career in other leagues before joining the Royals for 31 games of the 1967-68 season. He also played for the Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Royals again, Seattle SuperSonics, and Milwaukee Bucks before he signed with the (then) New York (now, Brooklyn) Nets in 1976 for the last season of his career.
During his time suiting up for the Nets, Fox wore only jersey No. 40 and put up 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
The Houston Rockets have had players donning a total of 52 different jersey numbers (and have one not part of any numerical series for Houston assistant coach and general manager Carroll Dawson) since their founding at the start of the 1967-68 season, worn by just under 500 players in the course of Rockets history.
To honor all of the players who wore those numbers over the decades, Rockets Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who wore them since the founding of the team all those years ago right up to the present day.
With seven of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Rockets of all time to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover.
And for today’s article, we will continue with the 16th of 18 players who wore the No. 5, big man alum Ray Spalding. After ending his college career at Louisville, Spalding was picked up with the 56th overall selection of the 2018NBA Draft by the
The Louisville, Kentucky native played the first game of his pro career with the Dallas Mavericks after a draft night deal. He would also play for the Phoenix Suns before he signed with Houston in 2021, where he played the last two games of his NBA career.
During his time suiting up for the Rockets, Spalding wore only jersey No. 5 and put up 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.