Who wore number 30 in NBA?

Wearing the right number on your jersey is more important than just a fashion statement. It’s an important part of being an NBA player that goes back to the beginning of professional basketball.

Bernard King

Bernard King is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 14 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Washington Bullets. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 8, 2013. His younger brother, Albert, also played in the NBA during his career.

Stephen Curry

Wardell Stephen Curry II is an American professional basketball player known for playing with the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time, and as the greatest shooter in NBA history, Curry is credited with revolutionizing basketball by inspiring teams and players to routinely utilize the three-point shot.

Curry is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry and the older brother of NBA player Seth Curry. He played college basketball for the Davidson Wildcats, where he set the scoring record for Davidson and the Southern Conference, was twice named conference player of the year, and set the single-season NCAA record during his sophomore year for most three-pointers made. Curry was selected by the Warriors with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

In 2014–15, Curry won his first NBA Most Valuable Player award and led the Warriors to their first championship since 1975. The following season, he became the first player in NBA history to be elected MVP by a unanimous vote and to lead the league in scoring while shooting above 50–40–90. That same year, the Warriors broke the record for the most wins in an NBA season en route to reaching the 2016 NBA Finals, which they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games. Curry helped the Warriors return to the NBA Finals in 2017, 2018 and 2019, winning back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, before being defeated by the Toronto Raptors in 2019.

During the 2012–13 season, Curry set the NBA record for three-pointers made in a regular season, with 272. He surpassed that record in 2015 with 286, and again in 2016 with 402. On December 14, 2021, Curry set the NBA record for career three-pointers, surpassing Ray Allen. For their shooting abilities, Curry and teammate Klay Thompson have earned the nickname of the Splash Brothers; in 2013–14, they set the record for combined three-pointers made in an NBA season with 484, a record they broke the following season (525), and again in the 2015–16 season (678).

Listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 190 pounds (86 kg), Curry plays almost exclusively at the point guard position. He is a high-percentage free throw shooter and has one the highest free throw percentage in NBA history. Curry is one of the Warriors’ all-time free-throw leaders, and has led the NBA in free throw percentage multiple times. He has been selected to numerous All-NBA Teams and voted league MVP. As a leader within the Warriors organization, he played a significant role in the recruitment of former MVP Kevin Durant to the Warriors.

Although capable of stealing the ball, having led the league in steals for the 2015–16 season, Curry has faced criticism for his defense. He is used more for his offense while his teammates, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, take on more defensive assignments. Some analysts, including Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN, have complimented his defensive play or stated that it is underrated. Strauss commented in 2015 that Curry became “one of the NBA’s most effective defenders – ranking fifth among point guards in defensive real plus-minus”.

Curry’s shooting ability ranges from scoring in great volume from underneath the rim all the way to near half-court. Using an unorthodox jump shot, he is able to get the ball out of his hands in under half a second by releasing it on the way up, adding extra arc to his shot and making it difficult to block. The shooting proficiency earned him the nickname “Baby-Faced Assassin” during his pre-NBA years and “Chef Curry” while in the NBA. He is also known for his ball handling and playmaking abilities, and for putting extra pressure on defenses with his long range, leading the NBA in field goals made from beyond 28 feet in 2016. A clutch scorer, he often shoots at his best in high-pressure moments, and takes game-winning shots.

Curry is ranked as one of the top players in NBA league history in career three-point field goal percentage and known for holding four of the top five seasons in terms of total three-pointers made. He is also one of the fastest players in league history to make 2,000 career three-pointers, doing so in 227 fewer games than the previous record-holder, Ray Allen. Additionally, Curry is one of the fastest players to make 100 three-pointers in a season, doing so in just 19 games, breaking his own previous record of 20 games.

NBA analysts state that Curry’s efficient scoring ability creates a “gravity” effect, forcing opposing defenders to double-team him even when he does not have the ball, which creates mismatches that his teammates are able to exploit. With Curry, the Warriors average 10.8 isolations per game; without Curry, they average 15.3 isolations per game.

His absence slows the Warriors offense down and leads to less passing and ball movement. With Curry, the Warriors average 1.05 points every shot that comes after an off-ball screen; without Curry, it drops to 0.95 points per game. His absence makes it much easier for defenders to switch on screens. Of Curry’s success with or without other elite teammates, Tom Haberstroh of NBC Sports stated: “You can pluck All-Star after All-Star off the court like flower petals, and the Steph-led Warriors will still dominate like a champion. He’s that transcendent of a player. … The Warriors go from plus-16.9 to plus-14.8 to plus-13.9 to plus-14.3 as you keep removing an All-Star from Curry. But as these numbers show, Curry is impervious. He’s teammate-agnostic. For those that think Curry would struggle in another organization or in another system, it’s clear: He is the system”.

Curry is widely considered to be the greatest shooter in NBA history. He is credited with revolutionizing the game of basketball by inspiring teams, from high school to the NBA, to regularly utilize the three-point shot. Analysts have referred to him as “the Michael Jordan of the three-point era”, stating that he did for the three-point shot what Jordan did for the dunk. The Guardian’s Robert O’Connell cites Curry’s February 27, 2013 game against the New York Knicks, in which he made 11 of 13 shots from behind the arc en route for a 54-point performance, as the start of the three-point era. The era has been referred to as “The Steph Effect” and “the NBA’s Three-Point Revolution”.

Before Curry, shooting behind the three-point line was more of a novelty, an occasional way of scoring. Catch and shoot players existed, but Curry’s success inspired the league to abandon physical play around the basket and to embrace a pace and space and three-point shooting style. The increase in three-point shooting is partly due to NBA teams incorporating it in their attempts to defeat the Warriors or copy the Warriors’ style of play, and to young people wanting to imitate Curry’s shooting range. Although this has led to players becoming good at or improving their three-point shot, it has also set unrealistic standards because Curry’s range is unique.

Curry is known for taking shots from between 30 and 35 feet. He shoots 54 percent from this range, while the NBA makes 35 percent of its threes overall and under 22 percent from between 30 and 35 feet. He can make the shots with elite ball handling, off the dribble, and often with an extremely quick release, from anywhere on the court and with one or more defenders on him. Curry said that he is sure coaches tell their high school players that shooting the way he does takes work and time. Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post stated that “coaches have to explain that while Curry’s skill set is something to aspire to, his game is built on fundamentals” and that “while the Warriors have become the NBA’s gold standard and make all those social-media-bound plays, the root of their success is ball movement”.

Kirk Goldsberry of ESPN opined that “one of the keys to Curry’s greatness is his range” and that “Curry isn’t just the best 3-point shooter ever, he’s the best deep 3-point shooter ever”. Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post stated that he “moves around behind the three-point line in an ever-widening arc, sinking long distance shots so cleanly that the net seems to snap like fresh laundry in a breeze” and that a highlight is the “sheer preposterousness of his shots, and the rate at which he is sinking the most far-fetched of them”. She said that “in one stretch he hit a mind-expanding 67 percent between 28 and 50 feet”.

Warriors Coach Steve Kerr stated that Curry’s hand-eye coordination “is as great as anyone I’ve ever seen”. Jeff Austin of Octagton concluded that Curry “had to develop tremendous strength in his wrists to shoot and maintain that form from 40 and 50 feet”. Goldsberry stated that “no player in the history of the NBA has combined range, volume and efficiency from downtown as well as Curry” and that “Curry’s jumper is so lethal that he has become the most efficient volume scorer on the planet”. His range and efficiency drove the developers of the NBA 2K video game series, in which Curry is featured, to worry that his abilities could not be replicated on screen.

Where Curry ranks as one of the greatest NBA players has been more subject to debate. Former NBA player Steve Nash, who is also among the NBA’s all-time efficient shooters, said Curry is “already an all-time great” and that people question his greatness “because he doesn’t dominate the game physically. He dances. He pays a tax for that. He pays a tax for his great teammates”. Scottie Pippen, who won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, said that Curry’s “willingness to sacrifice for Kevin Durant is one of the great stories in history” because Curry welcomed Durant, who is also a top player, to the Warriors without ego. “If you have a mind for the game, you know that it takes sacrifice to be great.

All the greats have to sacrifice something. Otherwise you can’t win”, he said, crediting Curry with being “one of the greatest guards the game has ever seen”. CBS Sports ranked Curry #19 in their list of “50 greatest NBA players of all time”. Sports Illustrated ranked him #3, behind Durant and LeBron James, on their “Top 100 NBA Players of 2019” list. Sports Illustrated stated that “Curry and the Warriors are a great match of player and system” and that “the entire ecosystem is predicated on the idea that a player doesn’t need to dominate the ball to dominate a game. Curry took that noble idea and elevated it beyond any reasonable expectation”.

In 2020, an ESPN feature ranked Curry has the 13th-greatest basketball player of all time, the second-highest active player on the list. Nick Friedell of ESPN said “The greatest shooter of all time. Curry’s ability to hit shots from all over the floor changed the way the game is played. He has led the Warriors to three NBA championships and earned two MVP awards, becoming the first unanimous MVP in league history in 2015-16. Curry’s influence on the game is seen on every level of basketball as younger generations shoot more than ever while trying to replicate his game”. In October 2021, Curry was honored as one of the league’s greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

George McGinnis

George F. McGinnis is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted into the ABA from Indiana University in 1971.

McGinnis immediately became one of the marquee players of the ABA, playing a key role on the Indiana Pacers’ championship teams in each of his first two seasons with his hometown franchise. He was named the ABA Playoffs MVP in 1973, averaging 23.9 points and 12.3 rebounds in 18 playoffs games to help the Pacers repeat as champs. His best season came in 1974–75, when McGinnis scored a career-high 29.8 points per game en route to ABA MVP honors. He nearly averaged a triple-double in the playoffs that year (32.3 points, 15.9 rebounds, and 8.2 assists in 18 games), but the Pacers fell short of the title, losing to Kentucky in the ABA Finals.

Two years into his professional career, McGinnis was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 22nd overall pick in the second round of the 1973 NBA draft. In October 1974, the 76ers were ready to send McGinnis’ draft rights to the New York Knicks with the stipulation that the latter ballclub signs him before the agreed-upon deadline. The deal fell through when he decided to stay with the Pacers and signed a two-year contract with an $85,000 buyout clause which was exercised following the 1974–75 season. Preferring to play in New York because of its financial endorsement opportunities, McGinnis sought a preliminary injunction and restraining order against the NBA on May 23, 1975, that would have permitted him to negotiate with any of the league’s 18 teams.

The lawsuit was dropped a week later on May 30 when he signed a six‐year $2.4 million contract with the Knicks in a challenge to the league’s constitution. In his first action as new NBA commissioner on June 5, Larry O’Brien disapproved the contract and ordered the Knicks to forfeit its first selection in the 1976 NBA draft and reimburse the 76ers for all expenses relevant to the dispute. McGinnis signed a six‐year, $3.2 million guaranteed, no‐cut, no‐trade, no-option contract with the 76ers five weeks later on July 10, 1975.

McGinnis made the All-NBA First Team in his debut season with the 76ers. Teaming up with fellow ABA alumni Julius Erving and Caldwell Jones, McGinnis helped lead the Sixers to the NBA Finals in 1977.

McGinnis was traded to the Denver Nuggets in 1978 for Bobby Jones, and was an All-Star again that season.

Hoping to boost sagging attendance in their early NBA years, the Pacers re-acquired McGinnis in a trade for a young, high-scoring forward named Alex English. However, McGinnis was only a shadow of his former self, and contributed very little during his two-year return to Indiana. Meanwhile, English went on to become one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history. McGinnis is one of the few players to have his jersey (#30) retired by the Pacers.

On April 1, 2017, it was announced that McGinnis was part of the 2017 class for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Tracy McGrady, Bill Self, and Rebecca Lobo. He was inducted on September 8.

Joel Anthony

Joel Vincent Anthony is a Canadian former professional basketball player who played for the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, and San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won two championships with the Heat in 2012 and 2013. He is also known as the General manager of the Montreal Alliance of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). Previously he was a player consultant for the Hamilton Honey Badgers. He is a former member of the Canada national team.

Vincent Askew

Vincent Jerome Askew is an American former professional basketball player who played for nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight different teams. A 6’6″ guard-forward, Askew played college basketball for Memphis State University. He was raised by his grandmother who had 13 kids and custody of Askew and three cousins.

Anthony Avent

Anthony Avent is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round (15th pick overall) of the 1991 NBA draft. Born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Avent played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, Vancouver Grizzlies, Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers in six NBA seasons. He played collegiately at Seton Hall University where he played in the 1989 NCAA championship game. Prior to Seton Hall, Avent played at Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark, New Jersey.

Upon being drafted 15th overall by the Bucks, Avent went on to instead sign with Phonola Caserta of the Italian League. He made this decision after failing to reach a satisfactory contract with the Bucks. After one season in Italy, Avent signed a four year deal with the Bucks, beginning with a $500,000 installment his first season and increasing in $150,000 increments in each of the succeeding three seasons. Thus, Avent would make $950,000 in the fourth year of his contract. His average salary would be $725,000 per season.

In the 1996–97 season he played in several games for the perennially powerful Greek team Panathinaikos, and in 2001 he played for PAOK BC.