Bruce Bowen announced his retirement last week, and there's been some discussion about whether the Spurs should retire his number. He was a key player on three championship teams and always managed to frustrate opponents, but do career averages of 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds warrant his jersey being raised to the rafters?
That question got the TrueHoop Network thinking: who is the Bruce Bowen of each NBA franchise, a guy who was or is by no means a superstar, but might at least be considered for the honor of having his jersey retired?
For the Hornets, my pick would be Muggsy Bogues. Not only had he the longevity (693 games with the Hornets), but he was also one of the game's best assist men and gave the franchise an identity through their first decade in the NBA. By all accounts he was a great teammate, and he did a lot for the community in Charlotte. And, of course, the dude remains the shortest player the NBA has ever seen at 5-3, making his entire pro basketball career the stuff of legend.
Muggsy's career averages as a Hornet:
| G | GS | PPG | APG | RPG | SPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 693 | 501 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 2.7 | 1.5 |
Which other Hornets players, past or present, deserve mention in this conversation?
Other posts on this theme from around the TrueHoop Network (added as I find them):
- NetsAreScorching: Kerry Kittles
- Hoopinion: Mookie Blaylock, Tree Rollins, Lenny Wilkens, and Kevin Willis
- Bucksketball: Bob Lanier?
21 mighty comments post your own
Dariusz Ejkiewicz
09/11/09 10:46 AM
Muggsy Bogues would be my pick as well. He did a lot on and off the court for the team and community. I don't think it will happen tho as the franchise is trying to cut itself away from the history it has. I think that CP3 might be the next hornets retired number and none of the Muggsy Bogues / Larry Johnson or Alonzo Mourning era won't get that special number up over the court in New Orleans Arena.
www.ejkiewicz.com #1
Niall Doherty
09/11/09 11:15 AM
Oh, I definitely agree that none of those guys from the past will be getting their number retired by the Hornets. This is just to speculate who should be considered if the franchise was to retire another number.
And when you think about it, the Hornets have never had a number retired for traditional reasons. Pete Maravich's #7 is a tribute to the history of pro basketball in New Orleans, and it's very unlikely that Bobby Phills would have had his number retired if not for his tragic death in the middle of a season.
So if Chris Paul is to be the next guy to have his number retired by the Hornets, we're in for a long wait because he's just getting started ;-)
www.ndoherty.com #2
Dariusz Ejkiewicz
09/11/09 11:52 AM
Well unfortnatelly that's how it goes. I guess we can be mad at it but on the other hand I can understand what is this based on. Maybe for us it's not so clear since we are hornets fans since early 90s and for us it was "just" a move.
But take the OKC Thunder now for example. Can you honestly see a Gary Payton or Nate Mcmillan jersey hanging down in OKC? Would that be right? Ofcourse not. But our situation is different on the name basis because the Hornets were always the Hornets so that particular part of history came with them to New Orleans and it feels for us like it's still the same team althought the cities changed.
The sad part is that Muggsy / Zo / Grandma got so many Hornets fans to the mix and they did so much for the whole global advertisement of this franchise that their "heritage" "legacy" or however you call it should be remembered by the franchise owners. I am not sure how this case should be approached when a franchise changes cities but getting those players somehow involved in the team after relocation and making them a part of the new franchise would definitely make the fans appericiate the history more and feel like each part of it was crucial. Maybe some community stuff from the legends or something, I am not sure how it works legally when someone is retired but there could be some good ideas and then the fans who were not close with the past could learn about the CLT times. Althought I know many don't want that, they want a New Orleans team to be just New Orleans since this franchise carries so much bagage with it, the CLT, OKC, NO, might be just a bit too much to hold and feel like its "ours".
Still getting back to the Topic, Muggsy Bogues is the man. He was the shortest nba player but he never wanted to be seen by just that. He was an offensive and defensive monster. He wanted to create for his players, get them into the game and then lead as their floor general. And how long was he doing that? 10 ? 11 years? And he was GREAT at it and he doesn't get even the 20% recognition for his efforts right now after the years. He was the guy who opened the franchise to the world, he was a HUGE fact that made the Hornets popular in Europe and Us in the first place. For me after seeing him play I started to be a Hornets fan when I saw what the little fella could do I knew I could do that too with heart, dedication and hardwork.
His jersey should be up there no matter where this team plays now, Niall what do you think about starting an online petition to the Hornets FO ? Muggsy Bogues number should not be used by the likes of Chris Andersen, Kirk Snyder or Ike Diogu who could never even touch what he did for this franchise.
www.ejkiewicz.com #3
Niall Doherty
09/11/09 12:10 PM
Honestly, I don't think a petition would do much. If the Hornets retired the jersey of a player from the Charlotte days, the majority of fans here wouldn't really care. Sure, retiring Muggsy's number might please some of us old school fans, but what incentive do the Hornets have to please us? Most fans from the old days don't spend a lot of money on tickets or merchandise, at least not compared to local fans.
www.ndoherty.com #4
Juff
09/11/09 12:18 PM
maybe there would be some chance to retire #1 because of the way they changed the jersey to the pine-stripe-look. give muggsy the respect, he deserves it.
honorable mention: dell curry
#5
Dariusz Ejkiewicz
09/11/09 12:50 PM
I know it's politics and marketing but still the guy deserves the respect he earned by playing for that team. I think we should do a petition, it won't do nothing bad but it can raise a few eyebrows and help out for sure.
www.ejkiewicz.com #6
Ryan Schwan
09/11/09 01:34 PM
I think it could be possible to get Bogues retired IF they were retiring someone else at the same time.
You know, retire a big name known to the locals - and give a nod to the past at the same time. However, I think the Hornets are a long way away from retiring anyone.
My pick for this article, though I won't argue with Bogues, was PJ Brown.
www.hornets247.com #7
Mark
09/11/09 02:59 PM
No opinion, but my favourite Muggsy Bogues memory was when he drew charges, he'd stick his hands out like a dead bug on the ground. Very amusing. Second favourite memory: Space Jam. Hahaha
www.dogpile.com/ #8
Nithenz
09/11/09 03:05 PM
Im with Juff, i would love to see Dell's 30 hanging, isnt him still the #1 hornet player in games and scoring and some 3 pts shoting records also. He not only performed on the court but also out of it.
#9
F******
09/12/09 08:02 AM
The Hornets franchise is known for letting great players go before they could have been mentioned as candidate for retirering the jersey. Maybe Glen Rice would be a candidate, besides Muggsy and Dell. He turned things around and had success with the team. I also think CP will be next.
#10
JoJo
09/12/09 08:07 AM
David West is my pick for next number retired by the Hornets presuming he stays here the rest of his career.
#11
Caleb462
09/12/09 05:51 PM
Yeah I think D West will be the first modern-era Hornets player to have his jersey retired. He'll probably stop playting what... 4-5 years before CP does? Could be more or less I guess.
neworleansbasketball.blogspot.com #12
Niall Doherty
09/12/09 05:59 PM
That raises an interesting question: who thinks David West will finish his career as a Hornet?
www.ndoherty.com #13
Caleb462
09/12/09 07:05 PM
Hmm... good question. I think its highly possible, and I certainly hope he does, but who knows?
neworleansbasketball.blogspot.com #14
Niall Doherty
09/13/09 08:52 AM
I doubt he will, just because guys so rarely spend their whole career with the same franchise nowadays. When a player gets older and has an expiring contract, he's great trade bait. I can see the Hornets and West eventually parting ways under those circumstances.
www.ndoherty.com #15
ticktock6
09/13/09 10:37 AM
I would say two things would have to happen. First of all he'd have to up his contract one more time. By then you're getting into 10 years with the same team territory, which inches you toward untouchableness. And second, the Hornets would have to win at least one championship in that time. If you look around the league, the list of guys whose expiring would most likely NOT be traded because they've been with their team too long is incredibly short. But they all have these two things in common.
I've got Kobe, Tim Duncan, Paul Pierce, Dirk off the top of my head... OK, no championship for Dirk but I still put him on the list.
OK strike that, I just looked it up and right now there are actually only 8 players who've spent at least 8 seasons on their original team. The four I mentioned above, and Ilgauskas, Jeff Foster, and Michael Redd. That's it. So it is very rare.
hornetshype.com #16
ticktock6
09/13/09 10:44 AM
Actually, it would be 7 players, playing 8 seasons. Lest people think I can't count. Whoops.
hornetshype.com #17
Caleb462
09/13/09 08:28 PM
Yeah on second thought "highly possible" is probably not correct. Possible though, definitely. At least he'll probably spend the majority of his nba career with the Hornets.
neworleansbasketball.blogspot.com #18
saltandcarbon
09/13/09 08:56 PM
The Bucketsball post is real good written...I mean really well written. And until I read it I was thinking 'Heck yeah, David West should have his number retired'. But did he change the course of the franchise? Was he an inspiration and a crowd puller and a glue guy on his own? He may well be with another 5 years' hindsight, but for now he isn't there. Not yet. Given the criteria of having been winners AND shaped a franchise, I'd say CP3 (no brainer) and Muggsy are the only cats who really qualify.
#19
D.Highmore
09/15/09 03:35 PM
Dell Curry for sure. 10 consistant years, a Sixth Man award, classy both on and off the court... I'm surprised it hasn't happened already.
I'd love Glen Rice to get his 41 retired, but I think the fact that he only played 3 seasons will mean that's unlikely. Mind you, in those 3 seasons he led the Hornets to an average of 48.5 wins, was All-Star MVP, 3rd in the league in scoring...
Really, those few years in the 90s were, along with the 2001 team that pushed the Bucks to 7 games, the high-water mark of the franchise, at least until CP3 came along.
#20
ChrisTrew.com
09/15/09 09:22 PM
I hope David West finishes his career with the Hornets so we can debate where he ends up on the all-time list of top pro New Orleans athletes.
www.christrew.com #21