Who wore number 45 in NBA?

Jersey numbers aren’t quite important when we talk about the impact that the guy has on the floor or the position he plays, and it’s nothing more than a mere symbol to represent them and distinguish them from their teammates. Nonetheless, those jersey numbers are also one of the most important things in player’s minds when they get to a new place, wanting to carry their former number to someday find their shirt hanging high on the team’s facilities rafters.

Rudy Tomjanovic

Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr. is an American former professional basketball player and coach, also known as a consultant for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His professional playing career, which lasted between 1970 and 1981, was entirely spent with the San Diego / Houston Rockets. Tomjanovich was a 5-time NBA All-Star forward; four consecutive times between 1974 and 1977, and again in 1979. He also made the playoffs five times: in 1975, 1977, and consecutively between 1979 and 1981.

On December 9, 1977, during a game between the Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, Tomjanovich was the victim of a life-threatening punch to his face brought upon him by Lakers power forward Kermit Washington. This ended his season after 23 games; after fully recovering, Tomjanovich played in the NBA for three more seasons.

After about eight years of being an assistant coach, Tomjanovich was promoted to head coach of the Rockets from 1992 to 2003, including when the Rockets won two consecutive NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. Tomjanovich coached Team USA to the gold medal in men’s basketball at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He also coached the Los Angeles Lakers during part of the 2004–05 NBA season. He was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame on May 16, 2021.

A.C. Green

192. C. Green Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed “Iron Man”, he set a National Basketball Association (NBA) record for most consecutive regular-season games played with 1,192. Green played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat. He found most success with the Lakers, with whom he won three championships in 1987, 1988 and 2000, and was named an NBA All-Star in 1990.

Green was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, attending Benson Polytechnic High School and Oregon State University. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Donovan Mitchell

Donovan Mitchell Jr. is an American professional basketball player known for playing with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. He was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 13th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft and was traded on draft night to the Utah Jazz. During his rookie season, Mitchell was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and won the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest.

Michael Ansley

Michael Antonio Ansley is an American former professional basketball player. He played three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and last played with Sportino Inowrocław of the Polish Dominet Bank Ekstraliga.

Ansley was selected by the Orlando Magic in the second round (37th overall) of the 1989 NBA draft. He played three years in the NBA for the Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Hornets. His best year in the NBA came during his rookie season as a member of the Magic, appearing in 72 games, and averaging 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

After leaving the NBA, he played in various clubs in Israel, Spain, Turkey, and Poland.

Dalano Banton

Dalano Banton is a Canadian basketball player known for playing with the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Banton’s selection with the 46th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft by the Raptors made him the first Canadian player to be drafted by the Canadian franchise.

On August 14, he signed a multi-year contract with the Raptors. Banton chose to wear the number 45 to honour the TTC 45 Kipling bus which regularly served the neighbourhood he grew up in. He made his professional debut on 20 October 2021 in the Raptors’ season- and home-opener against the Washington Wizards, and scored his first career points in the NBA with a buzzer-beating three-point field goal at the end of the third quarter. On November 13, 2021, Banton scored a career-high 12 points while adding three rebounds, two assists and a steal in a 127–121 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Henry Bibby

Charles Henry Bibby is an American former professional basketball player who played for the New York Knicks, New Orleans Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Diego Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also spent a season as a player-assistant coach for the Lancaster Lightning of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA).

His brother, Jim Bibby, was a Major League Baseball pitcher, and his son, Mike Bibby, is a former point guard of the National Basketball Association.

In 1969, Bibby shared MVP honors on the UCLA freshman team with guard Andy Hill, as Bibby was the squad’s leading scorer (26.8 ppg).

Bibby was a starting point guard as the UCLA Bruins won three straight national championships in 1970, 1971 and 1972, the Bruins’ sixth consecutive under head coach John Wooden. Bibby helped lead the Bruins through the first 47 games of an 88-game winning streak and was named an All-American his senior year. He was one of only four players to have started on three NCAA championship teams; the others all played for Wooden at UCLA: Lew Alcindor, Curtis Rowe, and Lynn Shackelford.

In the 1972 NBA draft, Bibby was drafted in the fourth round by the New York Knicks and in the second round of the 1972 ABA Draft by the Carolina Cougars. Bibby opted to play for the Knicks and was with the team for two-and-a-half seasons, which included an NBA title in 1973.

Bibby spent nine seasons in the NBA, and was a part of the 1977 and 1980 Philadelphia 76ers teams that made the NBA Finals but lost both times.