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.
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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.
BOSTON, UNITED STATES: Joe Johnson (R) of the Boston Celtics battles Karl Malone (L) of the Utah Jazz in the first quarter 21 December 2001 at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts. AFP PHOTO/JOHN MOTTERN (Photo credit should read JOHN MOTTERN/AFP via Getty Images)
And for today’s article, we will continue with the seventh of eight people to wear the No. 31, Boston wing alum Joe Johnson. After ending his college career at Arkansas, Johnson was picked up with the 10th overall selection of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Celtics.
The Little Rock, Arkansas native would play the first 48 games of his pro career with Boston before he was dealt to the Phoenix Suns in 2002.
During his time suiting up for the Celtics, Johnson wore only jersey Nos. 31 and 55 and put up 6.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics jersey history No. 31 – Joe Johnson (2001-02)