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Every jersey number that's never been worn in Toronto Raptors history

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
|
Jan 9 2025, 9:10 pm
Every jersey number that's never been worn in Toronto Raptors history
Nick Turchiaro/Imagn Images

Eugene Omoruyi has yet to play a game for the Toronto Raptors, but he’s set to make history as soon as he steps on the court.

The Nigerian-Canadian forward, who signed a 10-day contract with the franchise on Wednesday night, is expected to wear number 97 on his uniform, marking the first player in franchise history to do so.

Omoruyi would actually be the only active player in the league to be wearing 97, as he’s one of just two players in league history to do so (Brodric Thomas is the other, having worn it for 12 games with the 2022 Boston Celtics.

But while it might seem like a player wearing a number for the Raptors for the first time in their history wouldn’t be something that happens all that often, there are still plenty of digits left up for grabs.

28 is the lowest unworn number in franchise history, while 99 tops out as the highest. Though it’s a different sport, it might be hard to fathom a player wearing Wayne Gretzky’s number on the lone Canadian team in the NBA. (Jae Crowder is the only active player to sport the number, with just eight players in league history doing so, including former Raptor Justin Champagnie during his time with the Boston Celtics.)

Perhaps surprisingly, no player in Raptors history has ever worn a jersey in the 60s or 80s during their time with the team.

Two unique numbers, 36 and 53, haven’t been worn, in that they’re the only numbers that have seen both the one number higher (37 and 54) and the one number lower (35 and 52) be worn by at least one Raptor.

96 will join that club soon (with DeAndre’ Bembry wearing 95 in 2021) should Omoruyi touch the court for Toronto, though every other unworn number has at least one number on either side of it also been unworn.

Via Basketball Reference, here’s the full list of unworn numbers by Toronto, with it currently sitting at 45, should Omoruyi ever suit up.

28, 29, 47, 48, 49, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 93, 94, 96, 98, 99

(bolded numbers indicate numbers that have never been worn by any player in NBA history.)

If you’re wondering why several numbers starting at 56 haven’t been taken, it’s likely due to an old NCAA college basketball rule that only allowed players to wear uniform digits from 1 to 5. This meant that 55 was the biggest number available for players to transfer to the NBA if they wanted to keep the same number.

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