The Oklahoma City Thunder (and the Seattle Supersonics before them) have 51 jersey numbers worn by the players who have suited up for the franchise since its founding at the start of the 1967-68 season. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Thunder Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.
And while those Supersonics jerseys may not remain part of the franchise history should a new team be established in Seattle as was the case with the return of the Charlotte Hornets, they are part of the Thunder’s history today.
For this article, we continue with the 42nd jersey number in the series, jersey No. 44, with 15 players in total having donned the jersey in the history of the franchise.
The second of those players who did so in the Seattle SuperSonics era, big man alum Jim McDaniels. After ending his college career at Western Kentucky, McDaniels was picked up with the 23rd overall selection of the 1971 NBA Draft by the SuperSonics.
The Scottsville, Kentucky native would play the first 58 games of his pro career with the ABA’s (defunct) Carolina Cougars before signing with Seattle in 1972. His stay with the team would span parts of three seasons, coming to an end when he was cut in late 1973.
During his time suiting up for the Sonics, McDaniels wore only jersey No. 44 and put up 6.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.